Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast of the U.S around this time last year: In addition to the death, destruction and chaos, The Halloween Parade, a beloved New York tradition was cancelled. This year’s event is due to be bigger and better then ever, despite initial challenges of raising enough funds so the show could go on.

The parade will feature a long list of puppets, floats, costumes, and performances, but none so iconic as ‘Whitey’ the spider. Whitey has been involved with the parade since 2005 help by the master hands of puppeteer Basil Twist.

His home is the iconic tower in the Jefferson Market Library where on Halloween night he will crawl from. But how exactly does Whitey move with such spider like precision?

Basil Twist invited us to the tower where Whitey rests before her big performance at the parade in less then a week’s time. There he took us up the eeire twisty stair case to the top of the tower where one can get a beautiful 360 degree view of Manhattan. There he explained the process leading up to the parade, and what exactly happens on the night. We were alsso able to get up close and personal to one of the most iconic puppets of the parade, see her home, feel her legs and learn about the spider’s journey through the years.

Halloween New york city