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All the United States Alabama Millbrook Spectre Set Ruins
AO Edited

Spectre Set Ruins

The remains of an idyllic small town built for the film 'Big Fish' still stand around a rundown main street.

Millbrook, Alabama

Added By
Dylan Thuras
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First glimps of spectre through the styrofoam trees   Collinken / Atlas Obscura User
Spectre Set Ruins   forgottensoutheast.com
Spectre Set Ruins   forgottensoutheast.com
Spectre Set Ruins   forgottensoutheast.com
  allisonrosinsky / Atlas Obscura User
  allisonrosinsky / Atlas Obscura User
  Rachel Wallace (Atlas obscura user)
  Rachel Preskitt / Atlas Obscura User
  Rachel Preskitt / Atlas Obscura User
  Rachel Preskitt / Atlas Obscura User
  jessartislife / Atlas Obscura User
Many shoes have accumulated on the line at the front of the town from fans.   AdventureBro / Atlas Obscura User
Spectre Set Ruins   Ruins
Spectre Set Ruins   Ruins
Spectre Set Ruins   Ruins
Spectre Set Ruins   Ruins
Spectre Set Ruins   Ruins
Spectre Set Ruins   Ruins
Spectre Set Ruins   Ruins
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  dscottlumpkin / Atlas Obscura User
Buildings are unsafe (but still standing)   Jon Dilks
Spectre Set Ruins   Ruins
Spectre Set Ruins   Ruins
Goats shelter in the Spectre chapel, giving it a distinctive odor   Jon Dilks
Movie magic: most of the buildings are unfinished inside.   Jon Dilks
Spectral goats’ town   Jon Dilks
  AdventureBro / Atlas Obscura User
Photo taken in Oct. 2015   h0tel1 / Atlas Obscura User
Photo taken in Oct. 2015   h0tel1 / Atlas Obscura User
March 2017   Mom0ja / Atlas Obscura User
  AdventureBro / Atlas Obscura User
Sign outside at the front of the town of Spectre.   AdventureBro / Atlas Obscura User
The little things on the road are goats!   jessartislife / Atlas Obscura User
  jessartislife / Atlas Obscura User
What is left of Jenny’s House   kaykay0987 / Atlas Obscura User
The string of shoes   kaykay0987 / Atlas Obscura User
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The goat capital. 🐐   tinewatts / Atlas Obscura User
Shoestring.   tinewatts / Atlas Obscura User
What’s left of Jenny’s house from the movie   Collinken / Atlas Obscura User
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About

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.

Related Tags

Film Film Locations Ruins Abandoned Film Sets Abandoned

Know Before You Go

Take Alabama River Pkwy to Cypress Ln and then continue about 0.3 miles to the entrance gate. Once you reach the unattended gate (daylight entry only), call the number on the sign to receive the gate access code. You will need to pay an access fee of $5 per person (age 10+) and $3 per child (under 10) to cross over to the island (fishing, boating, are also allowed, and camping is $10 per person a night, $5 for children 10 years and younger). The gate is monitored with cameras.

Community Contributors

Added By

Dylan

Edited By

Mom0ja, jondilks, Mike Portanova, ckpetrus...

  • Mom0ja
  • jondilks
  • Mike Portanova
  • ckpetrus
  • h0tel1
  • therovingreader
  • Rachel Preskitt
  • kaitlinsmith24
  • EricGrundhauser
  • jamiemaloy
  • Meg
  • jessartislife
  • linapereira75
  • kaykay0987
  • tabzmonroe
  • allisonrosinsky
  • Collinken
  • AFJAGExplores
  • tinewatts
  • nidanterry
  • AdventureBro
  • mizemisty
  • dscottlumpkin
  • bdhatc
  • rachelbaker1982
  • MrNakana

Published

June 27, 2014

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Sources
  • https://roadtrippers.com/us/montgomery-al/points-of-interest/town-of-spectre-big-fish-filming-location
  • http://forgottensoutheast.com/locations/spectre/spectre.php
  • http://johnaugust.com/2014/the-ruins-of-spectre
  • http://www.abandonedplaygrounds.com/abandoned-film-setting-of-the-town-spectre-from-the-movie-big-fish/
  • https://issuu.com/tallapoosapublishers/docs/august_2016_elmore_county_living
  • http://therovingreader.com/visiting-real-fictional-towns-seaside-spectre/
  • https://www.facebook.com/JacksonLakeIsland/
Spectre Set Ruins
1059-1065 Cypress Ln
Millbrook, Alabama, 36054
United States
32.448046, -86.331612
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