MILLBROOK, Ala. – On Jackson Lake Island, near Montgomery, Alabama, is an old road that runs through an abandoned town. Houses line the sides of the road which ends right at the steps of a small church.

The layout of this town might remind some of a movie scene; more specifically, Tim Burton’s “Big Fish.” Fans of the movie know this town as Spectre.

The entirety of the movie “Big Fish” was filmed in Alabama, save one scene filmed in Paris, France. Tim Burton and his crew rented the privately owned island for several months in order to film scenes in the movie.

Bobby Bright, the current owner of the island, said Burton’s crew offered to tear down the movie set when filming was complete, but the then-owner chose to take responsibility of the demolition if they would pay her the amount they had budgeted for it.

Later, the owner decided to keep Spectre standing, and since then, the island has welcomed visitors from all over the world.

“It was totally haphazard that we made the decision to leave it,” Bright said. “I was going to use [the set] for scrap wood, but it has become a movie icon. People come from all over the world – it’s kind of a cult of followers of the movie coming here wanting to just to walk down the street.”

The movie was filmed in 2003, and years of wear to the movie set has done its damage. Because of this, the town is missing a few stores and houses that were in the movie.

For the safety of the visitors, the owners decided to burn down parts of the set that were collapsing. The fire spread, causing two buildings of the set to burn unintentionally, Bright said.

The movie also featured a scene of an enchanted forest where trees would reach out and grab the actor. The forest was built over an acre of land and was composed of 80 to 90 percent Styrofoam, said Lynn Bright, the wife of Bobby.

“At first we sort of liked walking through it,” Lynn said, “But as time went on, things started growing in there, and things started breaking in there. We felt like it was dangerous for visitors to go in. So you can imagine the project of getting rid of an acre and a half of Styrofoam.”

Jackson Lake Island has been in Lynn’s family since 1970 when her dad purchased the island. Since then, people have used the island to camp and fish.

Bobby said that visitors to the island have mushroomed within the past two years. Because of this, he’s added several RV hookups for guests to enjoy.

While the Brights are improving the camping aspect of the island, they are also keeping Spectre alive with improvements to the buildings and other props, including replacing roofs on some of the buildings.

The buildings were built to be props to a movie; they are empty on the inside and even a little dangerous to be walking through. Yet the Brights’ goal is to keep the buildings standing.

Spectre featured two light posts in the movie with a line attached between them that held the shoes of the town’s citizens. Those posts are still standing.

At Lynn’s request, Bobby reattached the original wire between the posts in 2015. They then hung three pairs of shoes on the wire to encourage guests to throw their own.

“We cleared the line off yesterday and we had probably over 75 pairs of shoes where people, when they would visit, would take their shoes off and throw them over the electrical line,” said Bobby.

After they cleared the shoes, they stretched the line and straightened the posts. They poured concrete at the posts’ bases so they wouldn’t lean over to ready them for even more visitors’ shoes.

In the movie, a character named Jenny lived in a house that was also built on the island. However, it was torn down a while ago due to safety reasons.

The columns were saved, and Bobby recently placed them in their original spot, accompanied by a sign letting visitors know where the house once stood.

Although Spectre has undergone a few changes since the movie was filmed, it hasn’t lost any of its magic.

It has become a hub for senior photos and bridal shoots, including the bridal shoots of the Brights’ daughters. The old church and unique arches of the houses help bring a magical feel to the pictures.

But perhaps the most magical aspect of the town lies in the connection of the movie’s message. Lynn said she knew they had to keep the set standing after hearing personal stories from some of the visitors.

“There are people that connected to that movie emotionally that love it. It matters to them to get there and to see that set,” Lynn said.

Even more magical is the connection the Brights have with the island. Lynn’s parents loved the island and did what they could to keep it a special place for families to visit.

As the years have passed, Lynn and Bobby have taken responsibility of the island. They have worked hard to keep it up, not only because of their personal love for the island, but also in honor of Lynn’s parents, she said.

“We put our hearts into it, to be quite honest,” said Lynn. “If we weren’t making a dime we’d still be doing it because we love it. Every time we make it look better, we’re so proud.”

Tim Burton’s crew didn’t bring in the magic of Jackson Lake Island by building Spectre. Spectre only enhanced the magic that was already there; the magic that continues on, all these years later.

Jackson Lake Island is located at 1810 Cypress Lane in Millbrook, Alabama.