The seductive rows of store shelves – fully stocked with sweettreats packed in bags adorned with festive fall colors – are acommon source of guilt among the populace as Halloween approachesand traditionally kicks off the yearly holiday glut.

Many area shoppers say as soon as the Halloween candy hits theshelves – even if it is mid-September – it’s not far from makingthe trek to their shopping carts. And then to their stomachs.

Health enthusiasts say while most people consider Thanksgivingand Christmas the danger zone for holiday snackers, it actuallybegins at Halloween.

Sheryl Myers, of Brookhaven, said every year she plans to denythe urge to start grazing on seasonal candy in mid-September. Butevery year, the goodies call her name from the candy aisles.

“Well, I hate that I actually start my unhealthy food binge likethe second week in September, because that gives me a whole quarterof a year to graze,” she said. “But the minute they start wrappingthem in different colors, I’m just a sucker. By January, I’m a fatsucker, too.”

Phil Howard, a paramedic at Hardy-Wilson Memorial Hospital inHazlehurst, said he’s particularly fond of Butterfinger candy bars.But no chocolate is safe when the Halloween candy makes itsdebut.

“I buy it when they first start putting it out,” he said. “Andas soon as I buy it, it’s eaten. It’s a family effort.”

While some shoppers say the reason they get into the candy soearly is because of their inability to deny the siren song of thetempting little brightly adorned packages, others admit the draw isnot simply seasonal.

Corey Riley, of New Hebron, said the seasons just don’t make adifference to his family. Part of that is because his mother keepsbaskets of candy in her hair salon for her customers yearround.

“I don’t buy it, Mama does,” he said. “And my grandmother buysit like crazy. We don’t wait for Halloween, though.”

The other problem lies in the fact that the holiday gives peoplean excuse to buy large quantities of candy that they can keep intheir homes while waiting for trick-or-treaters.

“I’ll buy all these big bags of all my favorite candies, andI’ll put them in bowls around the house, and I always think I’llhave some left for the end of October,” said Myers. “But then it’slike, ‘Where’d the candy go?'”

Shana Turnage, of Monticello, said her problem is very similar,and it’s exacerbated by the fact that she doesn’t get a lot oftrick-or-treaters at her house.

“I’ll buy it in mid-October, or when it goes on sale afterHalloween,” she said, adding she has a special affinity for MilkyWay bars. “I’m a selfish woman. I’m going to eat them all bymyself.”

But there are exceptions, too. Co-Lin student Cameron Clark saidit’s not even something he thinks about.

“I don’t even buy Halloween candy,” he said.

And sometimes parents are lured into the candy trap becausethey’re trying to make the holiday more special for their childrenor grandchildren.

Turnage said when her son, Christopher, 11, was younger, theyhad a system for how they would share the candy.

“We would barter for which pieces of candy I could have,” shesaid. “He’s a cool kid. He’d share.”

Meanwhile, Howard and his wife Priscilla admit to buying ahigher grade of candy for their family and grandchildren, andletting trick-or-treaters dig in the lower-level candy.

“We buy our grandkids candy that’s similar to what we buy forourselves, and the cheaper candy for the trick-or-treaters,” hesaid. “I wouldn’t say we’re hoarding the good candy, but we do kindof keep it for our grandchildren and ourselves.”

And the Howards aren’t the only ones.

“I wish I could just let my kids eat it and stay out of itmyself, or at least pawn it off on other people’s kids Halloweennight,” Myers said. “Because once you pile on all the turkey anddressing, and then the Christmas cookies, I’m so far behind thatthere’s no New Year’s resolution to fix the damage I’ve done.”