Resting near the banks of the Alabama River is the fictional town of Spectre, although all that remains of the bucolic burg are the crumbling husks of abandoned film sets.

In the 2003 film Big Fish, the lead character visits the idealistic town of Spectre at multiple points in his life. As a young kid, he spends time in the town during its bright, well-mowed heyday, only to return later in his life to find the town to be dilapidated and rotting. The man eventually saves the town, and visits it for a final time to find it fixed up once again.

In reality, the facades of Spectre were built on a private island on the Alabama River. When filming wrapped, the crew simply left the buildings standing alongside the styrofoam trees and other set dressings. The rundown version of the town was the last to be filmed, so when the sets were abandoned they already looked as though they had been neglected for decades.

Initially, the whole of the main thoroughfare had been left on the property, leaving the houses, stores, and chapel of Spectre flanking the main road for other wanderers to find. Sadly, a few years after filming had ended, some of the storefronts began to sag and collapse. When the owners tried to clear away the debris, sparks from the fire went across the road and caught other buildings on fire. All of the “town’s” commercial district was lost. The character Jenny’s house on the river was torn down after flooding made it unsafe.  

As of early 2017, visitors to the island can still view six homes, the church, two trees from the spooky forest, and the columns from the front of Jenny’s house. You might also decide to add to your shoes to the line, as many others continue to do.