On Courthouse Square in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, stands a bronze bust of one of the city's most famous sons — and it holds more than metal. Jason Miller, the actor who played the tormented Father Karras in The Exorcist, has some of his ashes mixed into the bronze. He was never buried. His close friend and fellow actor Paul Sorvino spent years sculpting the bust and was on hand when it was unveiled in 2009.

Miller wasn't just a one-film wonder. He won a Pulitzer Prize for writing That Championship Season, a play rooted in the working-class Pennsylvania world he knew, and appeared in films like Rudy, Toy Soldiers, Light of Day, and The Best Little Girl in the World. But it's The Exorcist — the 1973 horror landmark starring Linda Blair — that cemented him in movie history as the conflicted priest who sacrifices himself to save a possessed girl.

Scranton was home. Miller lived there, and he died there, suffering a fatal heart attack at a nearby restaurant. That local connection is part of why the statue resonates: this isn't a generic celebrity monument, it's a hometown tribute created with genuine affection by Sorvino.

The ashes detail has given the statue a second life of sorts. Locals whisper about eerie happenings around the bust, and it has become a regular stop on Scranton ghost tours. Whether or not you buy into the supernatural angle, it's a genuinely unusual piece of Americana — a public artwork that doubles as a memorial urn.

For travellers, the statue is an easy addition to a Scranton visit. The city has leaned into its identity in recent years, from the Steamtown National Historic Site's railroad exhibits to the small museums and red-brick downtown that inspired the setting of The Office. Courthouse Square sits right in the middle of it all, so you can pay your respects to Father Karras and be at a coffee shop or the Lackawanna County Courthouse within a minute. Horror fans and film buffs will get the most out of it, but anyone who enjoys offbeat roadside-style landmarks will find it worth a detour.

Scranton makes a solid weekend base for northeastern Pennsylvania too: the Pocono Mountains are a short drive away, and the city's historic Lackawanna Avenue corridor rewards a slow stroll. A quick photo with a statue containing an actor's ashes, followed by a pierogi lunch, is about as Scranton as it gets.

Thanks to Atlas Obscura for spotting this one.