Nearly 30 years ago, Patrick Konopelski volunteered to help a customer with their hayride fundraiser. Today, Shocktoberfest is ranked among the top haunted attractions in the country, scaring tens of thousands of people each year with an ever-changing line-up of spooky haunts and special events.
How did Shocktoberfest get its start? Konopelski Catering was doing the food service for Camp Conrad Weiser, and they were planning a simple hayride as a fundraiser. I suggested that if they made it a haunted hayride they might raise more, but they weren’t interested in that at all. I was trying to keep my customer happy, so I volunteered my time to run it for them. It was actually too successful; the property wasn’t set up for it, and the wait times were too long. After two years, they opted to try something different, so we moved it to my Willow Glen Park property and continued it from there.
After so long, how do you keep it fresh and interesting? There are big and little things that we can do. It’s impossible to build a new haunt every year, so we’ll do that once in a while, and in between we make minor modifications. We’ll change where the actors are, re-theme a couple of rooms, and come up with new experiences. Shocktoberfest has always tried really hard to reinvent itself.
Shocktoberfest has been called the Scariest Place on Earth; what sets you apart? We’re in a sweet spot. We’re a large seasonal attraction, and we’re designed to put a lot of people through, but in an intimate way. People go through our haunts in small groups so we can startle and scare them in the way haunted houses are meant to. Some of the bigger haunted parks get so many people that it becomes a conga line experience and it loses the intimacy and fear because you’re surrounded by so many people.
What about people who don’t like to be scared? We’ve been adding big special events over the years that allow people to experience Shocktoberfest on a different level. Last year, we added the Ghouls Gone Wild drag show, and that was a blast. This year we’re doing ShoctoBrew Fest, a craft beer festival, and we’re also hosting the Y102 Halloween Party. We have the music festival and the Zombie Mud Run, too.
When you aren’t catering or scaring people, what do you do with your time? My wife Lisa and I have four children, so a lot of time is spent supporting their activities. My daughter Morgan is also a singer in a band and plays up and down the east coast, so it’s fun to follow her. I usually sleep a couple of hours a day, too! I find that I can stay out of trouble if I just keep working, and I enjoy working. I always joke that I get to be like a mini Walt Disney. We work hard all year long to plan and put everything together, and then you open your doors and get to watch people have a good time and enjoy themselves. There’s just nothing more rewarding.
Experience your favorite haunts in a whole new way. Strip down and take the Naked and Scared Challenge or spend a night in the life of the undead with the Zombie Experience. Get the details at shocktoberfest.com.
Scared hungry? Konopelski Catering has you covered. Choose from a variety of unique food trucks and menu options to give you the strength you need to take on that hoard of zombies that awaits.
