It can absolutely be scraped off, If you lay 2 mil plastic on the floor and use blue painters tape to hold the plastic up over the closet door(s) and room door(s) you should be able to contain the mess-especially the dust.

depending on the age of the house it may or may not contain asbestos. i'm sure you can google to see whats likely for yours. we have just one ceiling to go in our 1986 vintage vacation home, its been a long slog but it looks so much better now.

A newer option is stretch ceiling. This is a stretchy, moisture-proof membrane that is suspended by narrow tracks (profiles) all around the perimeter. The result is flawlessly smooth and goes in without any mess in an afternoon. It never needs to be painted, and never bubbles, chips, peels, mildews, or sags. We carry over 280 colours in matte, satin, high gloss, and canvas textures, and also translucent versions that you can put lighting behind. On top of all that, it can be printed with any high resolution image! This adds up to nearly infinite design options. Here are some, there are many more on our profile:

Checkerboard Stretched Ceiling · More Info

Home Office featuring stretched ceiling digitally printed with an antique map · More Info

Black Lacquer-Look Ceiling by Laqfoil · More Info

Backlit Stairwell Mural · More Info