Standing broom in Prattville sweeps in paranormal researchers and the curious
August 27, 2009 7:00 PM
PRATTVILLE, Ala. -- Buzz about a broom standing upright and unsupported at a downtown Prattville business is sweeping the town.
Several hundred people have stopped by Vintage Blu, a yet-to-be-opened consignment shop, since the phenomenon was discovered Aug. 20. Dozens of theories to explain what's going on have been thrown out. There must be glue on the bristles of the broom, or there are magnets in the floor working in concert with the buildings electrical system, or maybe ... just maybe ... it's something from beyond at work.
"I think it's more strange than spooky," said Christy Burdett, the shop's owner, who has been working for several weeks to get the business open. "But it's been fun."
No, there isn't any glue, and there are no magnets in the floor. As to something otherworldly going on, people will have to use their own judgment.
It all started out innocently enough. The broom was leaning against a set of mobile shelves when Della Benton, Burdett's sister, moved the shelves on Aug. 20. When Benton looked back, she was surprised to see the broom standing on the floor.
"Christy was behind the counter and I told her to get her camera quick and take a picture. I thought the broom would fall over in just a few seconds," Benton said. "We had people walk past it the rest of the day. It stayed there. Spence (Williamson) from the fire department shoved the handle to the side; it went over a few inches and swung back into place."
Some 25 hours later a friend stopping by the store touched the broom's handle and it toppled.
"We told her she had the Holy Spirit, and she drove the ghosts away," Christy Burdett said with a laugh.
The broom is a run-of-the-mill item, purchased from Dollar General.
"It's just your average $2.99 broom," said Phillip Burdett, Christy's husband and a Prattville firefighter. "I don't know how to explain it. We've had people just walk in since it happened every day we've been down here. They want to see the broom."
It seems that the broom likes one spot on the store floor. People have moved it to other areas, and it hasn't stayed upright. Tuesday during an interview with theMontgomery Advertiser, a photographer moved the broom and was able to make it stand several feet away. It was quickly returned to its favorite spot, where Christy Burdett plopped it down and there it stuck.
It remained standing Thursday.
Visitors eye the broom suspiciously when they first walk in the building. The Burdetts are quick to move their hands around it, just to prove there are no strings or wires holding it up. Their 6-year-old son, Reed, has even jumped off the counter near the broom several times, landing beside it with a thud. The broom never wavered.
Their 2 1/2-year-old, Will, also has gotten in on the act.
"We brought him in and asked him what he thought of the broom," Christy Burdett said. "He went up and looked at it and said 'Mommy, it's cold.' I went up and there was cold air around the broom. You'll have to come up with an explanation for that on your own."
Christy Burdett posted what was going on Facebook late last week. That's when the buzz started.
"Word got around pretty quickly," she said. "There was a paranormal group having a fundraiser out at Buena Vista, and they asked if they could come by and see it."
Southern Paranormal Researchers spent several hours at the store over two days, she said. The crew put teams in the store, its basement and the building next door, which houses Lucky Photography.
"They told us they felt the presence of several spirits," Christy Burdett said. "The lights flickered next door."
She said one member of the group came out of the bathroom and wanted to know who had turned the lights off. "When she found out nobody did, she got a little upset," Burdett said.
The researchers still have to go over evidence gathered during the investigation, to see if anything went bump, or swish, in the night, said Jake Bell, assistant director of SPR.
"The basement team thought they had some shadow movement," he said. "Other members of the team just had the feeling of a creepy presence."
And what is Bell's personal verdict?
"I just think it balances that way," he said. "But it's pretty funny how they found out, by moving that piece of furniture. It's a pretty cool story."
As word filtered out in the community, folks came by to share their downtown ghost stories.
The building has a varied past. It has been a cafe, car dealership and dry goods store. Lucky Photography was its most recent tenant, moving next door a few weeks ago.
"The guy from the photography shop came by when everybody started talking about the broom," Christy Burdett said. "He said he didn't want to tell us this when we moved in, but he had a broom that would stand up. He never told his partner because she was scared of ghosts."
George Walthall Jr., a local attorney, owns the building and has his office on the second floor.
"Ladies from George's office told us they see an older man and woman upstairs sometimes," Phillip Burdett said. "They all told us the stories separately, and the stories matched up."
Walthall stopped by the store Tuesday morning and was at a loss to explain the broom's positioning.
"I had a client a long time ago that was into voodoo," he said. "But that's been a long time ago. If there are any spirits in the building, I'll just send them downstairs."
If there are spirits, that won't be the only thing Walthall does, said Butch Ellis, who was walking downtown Tuesday.
"If there are ghosts in the building, George will figure out a way to charge them rent," he said.
April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008