Standing broom in Prattville sweeps in paranormal researchers and the curious

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Standing broom in Prattville sweeps in paranormal researchers and the curious
August 27, 2009
Marty Roney
al.com

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 the Montgomery 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.