Naked ambition can be a terrifying thing, as we learned from years of watching I Love Lucy, which saw the titular housewife desperately trying to escape from her entertainer husband’s shadow. Still, “widespread revulsion” was probably not the intended result of the Lucille Ball statue that was dedicated to the legendary actress in her hometown of Celoron, New York. The town’s residents actively (well, via a Facebook page) tried to have the statue removed after enduring its grimace for six years, citing the scary factor while leaving out its resemblance to the Ice Cream Man. Despite the townspeople’s best efforts, the “Scary Lucy” statue remains as firmly rooted as Ball’s place in comedian history.
But at least Scary Lucy’s grotesque countenance will provide some intentional thrills this Halloween—Yahoo! News, which first brought us word of the bronze abomination, reported Tuesday that the statue would be moved to a nearby haunted house attraction. Unfortunately for the people of Celoron, that turned out to be incorrect. Instead, the “Haunting At The Mall” event will feature an actor in the role of Scary Lucy, because the only thing more frightening than the statue itself would be watching it coming to life to force-feed visitors some Vitameatavegamin. Scary Lucy can be seen on weekends at the Chautauqua Mall through Halloween, and in the nightmares of Celoron inhabitants for years to come.