Resting near the banks of the Alabama river is the fictional town of Spectre, Alabama, although all that remains of the bucolic burg are the crumbling husks of the film sets the town was built as.
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, finding the town to be dilapidated and rotting. The man eventually save the town and he visits it for a final time to find it fixed up once again.
In reality, the facades of Spectre were built on a private Alabama island. When filming wrapped, the crew simply left the buildings standing alongside the styrofoam trees and other set dressing. The rundown version of the town was the last to film, 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 (with permission from the property owner). Sadly, recent adventurers report that all but the chapel and a house or two have collapsed.
