OUT ON ALLEGE

IDEAS Want to be lucky in love or bingo? Perhaps there are enemies you wish to keep away or even to harm? Nite Glow Candle company can help-but don’t forget to read the disclaimer. “We put the word ’alleged’ on every candle in this line,” says BARBARA BINDER, sales manager of the Nite Glow Candle company of Dallas with a laugh. “We want everyone to know they’re just for fun or inspiration.” Nile Glow executive RICHARD FAVA says that the company-which ships the candles nationwide, along with more mundane restaurant and religious candles-creates its products based on market demand. “The retailers tell us what their customers are asking for.”

That means candles ranging from the predictable (allegedly bringing money, sex, love, luck) to the oddly charming (“Shut Your Mouth”) to the downright creepy (“Law Stay Away,” depicting a policeman in chains), and “DUME” (Spanish for “doom”), a personal blacklist candle with spaces for the names of nine enemies and the desired evil to be suffered by each.

Apparently, the allegedly-mystically-powered candle business is a lucrative one. LINO RODRIGUEZ, manager of El Padrino, a religious articles store on West Jefferson, says that his customer base crosses all ethnic lines. Adds FRANCISCO DIAZ of Chango Botanica on West Davis, “We sold about $48,000 worth of Nile Glow candles last year.”

According to Binder, this stands to reason. “People who burn candles burn them constantly.” Allegedly, that is.