A terrorist tried to terrify New Yorkers but he couldn’t even cancel their Halloween parade

This spirit is the kind of thing that makes New York New York. A truck can't destroy that. It can't even cancel our Halloween parade

New Yorkers lined the street to celebrate Halloween (Getty)

Not five hours had passed since the deadliest terrorist attack in New York since 9/11, yet here we were: thousands of New Yorkers packed alongside sixth avenue in Greenwich Village wearing face paints, wigs, and costumes for the annual Halloween parade.

Some people looked scary, but no-one was scared.

With an attack that killed eight and injured at least 11 after a truck crashed through a bike lane on an October day fresh in the conscious of the city, New Yorkers refused to be terrified into submission.

It’s the kind of thing that makes New York New York. A truck can't destroy that. It can't even cancel a Halloween parade.

As skeletons on stilts walked by, throngs of people pushed up against barricades to catch a glimpse. Little Wonder Womans sat on the shoulders of their parents and watched as a float playing “Thriller” on repeat made its way down the street. People dressed as werewolves found a quintessentially New York thing to complain about, grumbling that the crowded sidewalks were “a sh*t show”.

Were they worried about a repeat of the attack that, at one point, ran parallel to the parade route hours earlier?

“No, because you have to live your life,” Tee Jones, of Queens, said. She joked that, given the questions, she was dressed up as a New Yorker. “You have to continue on. That’s why you’re in New York. You’ve got to be resilient.”

During a press conference following the attack, officials were quick to note that the the parade would take place, but people would see increased security around the city.

Mayor Bill DeBlasio did not have any trouble explaining why: “We know this action was intended to break our spirit, but we also know New Yorkers are strong. New Yorkers are resilient.”

Just after 3pm Tuesday, people in New York began texting and calling friends and family to make sure that the unthinkable hadn’t happened. People checked in on Facebook’s disaster platform, notifying their entire social network that they had made it through the attack, the type of which has happened so frequently that they are less surprising than they are simply tragic.

Some of those looking for family or friends have been learning since the attack that the unthinkable did happen, and will now begin to grapple with a loss in their life that will never fully be replaced.

New York now must show that a brutal and senseless attack meant to give it nightmares won’t stop it from celebrating its diversity, its vibrant culture, and its way of life.

New Yorkers, simply by dressing up as nightmares and superheroes while dancing in the street, showed that they won’t be so easily spooked.