Some residents of a Boon Lay Housing and Development Board (HDB) block were left feeling spooked.

One of them, a woman, admitted that she got shocked when the lift doors opened one day to reveal Freddy Krueger — not the real deal, but a three-dimensional portrait of the horror movie character.

'Inappropriate' to hang portrait in public area

Speaking to 8world, the resident, surnamed Wu (transliteration from Mandarin), said she first noticed the portrait about two weeks ago when the lift stopped at the 17th floor.

As the portrait of the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" character — who in the film murders his victims in their dreams — was "too lifelike", she said she felt freaked out upon taking a closer look at it.

She said she believed that the portrait, which was hung right in front of the lift for some time, was "very inappropriate" as there are a lot of elderly and children residing in the block.

Another resident, 60, echoed Wu's sentiments and shared that she would "purposely avoid" using the lift near the portrait.

"When I first saw the artwork, I did not like it and felt scared. I didn't like or dare to take that elevator. I felt uncomfortable," added the resident.

Some residents weren't bothered by portrait

Other residents of the HDB block, however, said they have gotten used to the portrait, and it no longer frightened them.

One such resident is a woman who also lives on the 17th floor.

She said she believed that the portrait was put up by her neighbour for Halloween when he moved into the HDB block in 2023.

Another resident, whose nine-year-old child thought the portrait was fun, said it helped make the floor more identifiable.

The resident also described the owner of the film memorabilia as "a friendly person who has good relationships" with his neighbours.

Likewise, another 45-year-old resident concurred that the portrait did not bother her or her five-year-old child.

In fact, she said her child would greet the movie character whenever they walked past it.

Portrait removed by owner

The owner of the Freddy Krueger portrait revealed that he purchased the artwork for more than S$200 because he enjoyed collectibles.

He proceeded to hang the portrait outside his unit, and it is now estimated to be valued at S$500.

Nevertheless, the owner said he would remove it if his neighbours were affected by it.

To avoid causing disturbances to his neighbours, the owner of the artwork kept to his word and removed the portrait, which was witnessed by the 8world reporter.

Top image via 8world