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The spirit of Halloween isn't dead—it's dangling off the side of the Jefferson Market Library Tower.
On Halloween night, from 7pm to 10pm, a giant, sparkly spider will be hanging off the tower as it does each year during the Village Halloween Parade. The parade is canceled this year, but the spider will still make an appearance.
The spider, named Zohra, is the creation of Master Puppeteer Basil Twist.
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He has been showing the 10-foot-wide spider off for over 25 years. Each Halloween night, Twist carries the 10-foot-wide spider, which is made of aluminum and lightweight foam, up 149 stairs to the top of the clock tower. From there, he manipulates her from the top so that those walking in and watching the parade can see her in all her glittery glory.
"Zohra" is a Quranic girl's name that means "radiant white color." Interestingly, there was a prisoner at the Jefferson Market, which was originally a courthouse, whose name was Zohra.
Last year, Twist and Zohra were named the parade's grand marshals.
Twist has been creating puppets for the parade with Artistic Director of the Parade Jeanne Fleming since 1991, when he created a swarm of bats. Zohra was created in 1994.
You can see her creeping around in the video below: