diff --git a/lib/hyperscript/runtime.sx b/lib/hyperscript/runtime.sx
index 194a5c09..7704e588 100644
--- a/lib/hyperscript/runtime.sx
+++ b/lib/hyperscript/runtime.sx
@@ -68,13 +68,18 @@
   hs-on
   (fn
     (target event-name handler)
-    (let
-      ((wrapped (fn (event) (do (host-set! meta "caller" _hs-on-caller) (host-set! meta "owner" target) (let ((__hs-no-stop false)) (guard (e ((and (not (= event-name "exception")) (not (= event-name "error"))) (do (when (and (list? e) (= (first e) "hs-halt-default")) (set! __hs-no-stop true)) (when (not __hs-no-stop) (dom-dispatch target "exception" {:error e})))) (true (raise e))) (handler event)) (when (not __hs-no-stop) (host-call event "stopPropagation")))))))
+    (when
+      (not (nil? target))
       (let
-        ((unlisten (dom-listen target event-name wrapped))
-          (prev (or (dom-get-data target "hs-unlisteners") (list))))
-        (dom-set-data target "hs-unlisteners" (append prev (list unlisten)))
-        unlisten))))
+        ((wrapped (fn (event) (do (host-set! meta "caller" _hs-on-caller) (host-set! meta "owner" target) (let ((__hs-no-stop false)) (guard (e ((and (not (= event-name "exception")) (not (= event-name "error"))) (do (when (and (list? e) (= (first e) "hs-halt-default")) (set! __hs-no-stop true)) (when (not __hs-no-stop) (dom-dispatch target "exception" {:error e})))) (true (raise e))) (handler event)) (when (not __hs-no-stop) (host-call event "stopPropagation")))))))
+        (let
+          ((unlisten (dom-listen target event-name wrapped))
+            (prev (or (dom-get-data target "hs-unlisteners") (list))))
+          (dom-set-data
+            target
+            "hs-unlisteners"
+            (append prev (list unlisten)))
+          unlisten)))))
 
 ;; Wait for CSS transitions/animations to settle on an element.
 (define
diff --git a/spec/tests/test-hyperscript-behavioral.sx b/spec/tests/test-hyperscript-behavioral.sx
index a1054a03..bd4aff24 100644
--- a/spec/tests/test-hyperscript-behavioral.sx
+++ b/spec/tests/test-hyperscript-behavioral.sx
@@ -9472,7 +9472,14 @@
       (hs-activate! _el-div)
     ))
   (deftest "can ignore when target doesn't exist"
-    (error "SKIP (skip-list): can ignore when target doesn't exist"))
+    (hs-cleanup!)
+    (let ((_el (dom-create-element "div")))
+      (dom-set-attr _el "_" "on click from #doesntExist throw \"bar\" on click put \"clicked\" into me")
+      (dom-append (dom-body) _el)
+      (hs-activate! _el)
+      (dom-dispatch _el "click" nil)
+      (assert= (dom-get-inner-html _el) "clicked"))
+  )
   (deftest "can invoke on multiple events"
     (hs-cleanup!)
     (let ((_el-div (dom-create-element "div")))
diff --git a/tests/hs-run-filtered.js b/tests/hs-run-filtered.js
index 4ef885bb..99716053 100755
--- a/tests/hs-run-filtered.js
+++ b/tests/hs-run-filtered.js
@@ -668,6 +668,7 @@ K.registerNative('host-call',a=>{if(_testDeadline&&Date.now()>_testDeadline)thro
 K.registerNative('host-call-fn',a=>{const[fn,argList]=a;if(typeof fn!=='function'&&!(fn&&fn.__sx_handle!==undefined))return null;const callArgs=(argList&&argList._type==='list'&&argList.items)?Array.from(argList.items):(Array.isArray(argList)?argList:[]);if(fn&&fn.__sx_handle!==undefined){try{return K.callFn(fn,callArgs);}catch(e){const msg=e&&e.message||'';if(String(msg).includes('TIMEOUT'))throw e;return null;}}function sxToJs(v){if(v&&v._type==='list'&&v.items)return Array.from(v.items).map(sxToJs);return v;}try{const v=fn.apply(null,callArgs.map(sxToJs));return v===undefined?null:v;}catch(e){return null;}});
 K.registerNative('host-new',a=>{const C=typeof a[0]==='string'?globalThis[a[0]]:a[0];return typeof C==='function'?new C(...a.slice(1)):null;});
 K.registerNative('host-callback',a=>{const fn=a[0];if(typeof fn==='function'&&fn.__sx_handle===undefined)return fn;if(fn&&fn.__sx_handle!==undefined)return function(){const r=K.callFn(fn,Array.from(arguments));if(globalThis._driveAsync)globalThis._driveAsync(r);return r;};return function(){};});
+K.registerNative('host-make-js-thrower',a=>{const val=a[0];return function(){throw val;};});
 K.registerNative('host-typeof',a=>{const o=a[0];if(o==null)return'nil';if(o instanceof El)return'element';if(o&&o.nodeType===3)return'text';if(o instanceof Ev)return'event';if(o instanceof Promise)return'promise';return typeof o;});
 K.registerNative('host-iter?',([obj])=>obj!=null&&typeof obj[Symbol.iterator]==='function');
 K.registerNative('host-to-list',([obj])=>{try{return[...obj];}catch(e){return[];}});
diff --git a/tests/playwright/generate-sx-tests.py b/tests/playwright/generate-sx-tests.py
index 6e7a16c4..f603ac13 100644
--- a/tests/playwright/generate-sx-tests.py
+++ b/tests/playwright/generate-sx-tests.py
@@ -109,10 +109,8 @@ SKIP_TEST_NAMES = {
     "can be in a top level script tag",
     "multiple event handlers at a time are allowed to execute with the every keyword",
     "each behavior installation has its own event queue",
-    "can catch exceptions thrown in js functions",
     "can catch exceptions thrown in hyperscript functions",
-    "can ignore when target doesn't exist",
-    "can ignore when target doesn\\'t exist",
+    "can catch exceptions thrown in js functions",
     "can handle an or after a from clause",
     # upstream 'fetch' category — real DocumentFragment semantics (`its childElementCount`
     # after `as html`) not exercisable with our DOM mock.
@@ -202,6 +200,16 @@ MANUAL_TEST_BODIES = {
     "basic classRef works w no match": [
         '    (assert= (len (eval-hs ".badClassThatDoesNotHaveAnyElements")) 0)',
     ],
+    # on from: if target resolves to nil, hs-on silently skips registration
+    "can ignore when target doesn't exist": [
+        '    (hs-cleanup!)',
+        '    (let ((_el (dom-create-element "div")))',
+        '      (dom-set-attr _el "_" "on click from #doesntExist throw \\"bar\\" on click put \\"clicked\\" into me")',
+        '      (dom-append (dom-body) _el)',
+        '      (hs-activate! _el)',
+        '      (dom-dispatch _el "click" nil)',
+        '      (assert= (dom-get-inner-html _el) "clicked"))',
+    ],
     # bootstrap: restore correct bodies that auto-regen gets wrong
     "can call functions": [
         '    (hs-cleanup!)',