Five Scary Years
New Jersey already boasted lots of “haunted trail” attractions for the halloween. Then, half a decade ago, Howell’s Rob Panasuk upped the game.
Have you heard the story of the Mill Massacre? It began 13 years back, when a young man named Jonathan is said to have invited his friends over for a game-filled Halloween get-together in Wall Township. But what started as a night of fun quickly became a nightmare, as Jonathan hunted each of his friends through the woods near the Conover Christmas Tree Farm and murdered them with tools from his shed. Afterward, he vanished into those same woods—and some say he never left them. Are you brave enough to enter on a cool autumn night?
If you’re scratching your head trying to figure out how you missed such a bloody news story in 2013, worry not. The above is a fictional narrative created by Howell native Rob Panasuk, the founder of a haunted trail attraction called The Conover Killings in Wall. Since its debut in 2021, it has gained fame as one of the state’s most exciting haunted attractions. As it marks its fifth anniversary this year, Panasuk and his team have no intention of slowing down—or muting the scare factor—any time soon.
In New Jersey’s rich array of seasonal haunted attractions (called “haunts” by enthusiasts to differentiate them from both traditional, kid-friendly spots and paranormal ghost tours), The Conover Killings stands out. For one thing, it’s all outdoors. Guests wander trails in dense woods where they stumble on set pieces and surprises, all while scare actors stalk them, ready to deliver serious frights. (They’re all professionals—safety is priority one, and no one actually gets hurt.) The experience is immersive, with an ambiance that starts when you pull into the parking lot and continues until the moment you leave. Rather than just walking through a building or a maze, you become a part of what feels like a slasher flick—in the role of one of the victims— guided by recorded narration written by Panasuk. Only one small group enters the haunt at a time, and a few such groups pass through it each night. As Halloween attractions go, you can fairly call this one “boutique.” And the scare payoffs are big. Customers leave shaking, smiling and satisfied.
The story of the haunt’s origins begins not with a slasher-movie setup, but with some trails in the woods. Says Panasuk: “During the COVID lockdown, a friend and I got really into mountain bikes. I was making a this long, winding bike trail in the woods in my backyard, and I lost track of time. It got really dark. And as I was walking back, I thought to myself, ‘It would be fun to bring people out on a path like this and scare them.’”
Panasuk is a lifelong fan of all things spooky and Halloweenish. (And he works remotely in media marketing and analytics, giving him some scheduling flexibility.) “I’ve been to many of the other haunts in the state, and I love all of them,” he says. “I was really inspired to create my own.” Funds and props were in short supply, but what he did have was an idea for the fictional serial killer who would become the center of the attraction. Panasuk started writing, and the idea started growing—and seeming more feasible.
In the fall of 2021, Panasuk presented his haunt for the first time. It was low-budget by necessity, set up in those woods behind his house, run by him and a handful of friends as scare actors, and people entered free of charge. He didn’t expect much to come out of it, but the feedback was overwhelmingly positive—and he and his friends had a blast.
“Something this immersive, especially outside, just didn’t exist in New Jersey,” says Panasuk. He started charging admission to fund props, sets and more actors. The haunt outgrew his backyard, and he began to reach out to local farmers looking for space and a partnership. That’s how he connected with the Conover family of Conover’s Christmas Tree Farm in Wall. From day one, it was a match made in heaven. “The way they operate their farm and the way I aim to operate the haunted trail are very much in sync,” explains Panasuk. “We both believe very strongly in quality over quantity. You don’t worry how many trees get sold or how many people get to see the haunt every night. You focus on giving everyone who does come a really special experience.” Jack Conover, he reports, quickly became one of his closest friends, and the Conovers’ farm dog Hamilton is a big hit with patrons of the haunt.
Every year the attraction has grown larger and more elaborate—more actors, more complex sets and props, an expanded trail. “We are very scare-actor-focused, and we have a really amazing staff,” Panasuk says. Running the haunt has become a full community effort—Panasuk’s mother greets people as they pull up, and his father, stepfather and friends all help run things on the back end. Prepping takes months for only a few weeks of performances, but all that hard work pays off. The website New Jersey Haunted Houses, the premier guide to scares in the Garden State, named The Conover Killings “Haunt of the Year” in 2024 and 2025. The industry podcasts “Halloween Haunts 365” and “Anything Goes with Greg & Alex” both visited and delivered glowing reviews—despite making a career out of visiting haunted attractions, they’d never seen anything quite like Panasuk’s setup.
What to expect if you drive up to The Conover Killings this year? An unsettling ambiance that starts when you pull into a dark, rural parking lot. You pick up your tickets, say hi to Hamilton and sit around a roaring bonfire. You wait there, listening to the screams from the group ahead of you, until it’s time to enter the woods for the ultimate Halloween experience—if you dare.
“It’s like going on a roller coaster,” Panasuk says. “You’re going to feel some adrenaline pumping. You’re going to get jump-scared. It’s going to freak you out. But, at the end of the night, you’re going to be OK and it’s all safe. You’re all harnessed in. And so it’s really fun.”
