William McKeen is chairman of the University of Florida’s Department of Journalism and author of several books, including the Hunter S. Thompson biography Outlaw Journalist.

THE BIG CHILLER: Too bad that giving-gifts-for-Halloween thing never caught on. It was my personal childhood crusade, merely another pathetic attempt to maximize booty for the Kid. It didn’t work on my pop and it didn’t work on society at large.

But if it had caught on, what fun it would be to try to creep each other out with gory gifts every Oct. 31. The more literary minded might use the occasion to share stories of horror and suspense.

Imagine how cool it would be to go door-to-door and pick up some scary lit. People would hand out Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King the way grannies toss that worthless candy corn into trick-or-treat bags.

This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2008.