The Haunt Bring Their Gothic Energy to Asbury Park
The most ghostly month of the year had just begun. The air was crisp and misty, Asbury Park had just hosted its annual Zombie Run the day before, and inside the House of Independents, they were already fully prepared for Halloween. The walls were decked out with bloody handprints, a giant glowing inflatable spider hung on the wall, and there were even a few people in costume.
WAVE BREAK
As people began to trickle in, they were greeted by local Asbury Park band Wave Break. The four-piece, female-fronted alternative/emo band brought great energy to the stage. The lead singer spent more time in the air than on the ground, and at one point the band asked the audience to form a circle pit around both the singer and guitarist. It was a small crowd, but they were enthusiastic, setting the tone for a night that would only get more energetic.
PLATINUM MOON
Next up was another female-fronted alt-rock band, New York-based Platinum Moon, who are currently touring with The Haunt. They immediately turned up the energy in the room. The lead guitarist was frequently jumping while playing, while the drummer went so hard that he managed to lose his glasses and pop out one of the lenses at one point. We helped him find them after the set.
Lead singer Ava Anduze kept apologizing because she was quite sick, but you really could not tell. Other than frequently stopping to take a drink between songs, she was a tiny ball of energy, bouncing all over the stage and belting out the songs with incredible force. By the end of their set, people on the floor were looking around at each other with the same expression: this band was just really fun to watch.
8 GRAVES
The third opener, electronic alt-rock duo 8 Graves, brought something a little different to the night. Joined by a barefoot drummer who absolutely ate, they introduced a more genre-bending, almost hip-hop-inspired sound. Lead singer Brent Carpentier explained that while 8 Graves is now a Nashville band, New Jersey will always be home.
Carpentier had an interesting way of performing, with unique mannerisms that included occasionally wrapping the microphone cord around his neck. He was also great at interacting with the crowd, frequently leaning over to sing directly into fans' phones and cameras. Fun fact: there were a couple of times when he leaned into my camera, but unfortunately, my closest focal length was 24mm, so I couldn't get him in focus.
The guitarist brought some classic rock energy to the stage, whipping his long, curly hair around while playing. Together, 8 Graves made for another fun and engaging set and kept the momentum building toward the headliner.
THE HAUNT
Before The Haunt took the stage, everything went dark. The band let the anticipation build with flashes of white light, and for a moment, the only thing visible onstage was Pebbles, their large stuffed bunny and official band mascot.
Then The Haunt appeared.
Lead vocalist Anastasia Haunt was a sight to behold, whipping her red hair around while dressed entirely in black lace, with a full skirt, batwing sleeves and black stockings—without shoes. She was positively enchanting, spinning around on an elevated box like a gothic ballerina while delivering powerhouse vocals.
They launched immediately into “Alone on Your Planet,” one of the newer singles from their upcoming album Ghost. Despite the smaller crowd, the energy was high from the very beginning. Anastasia let her vocals do most of the talking, leaving much of the interaction with the audience to her brother, Maxamillion Haunt.
Max immediately encouraged everyone watching from the balcony to come down onto the floor and get closer to the stage. From there, the energy only continued to build.
During the show, Max had mentioned that Anastasia had undergone major surgery just a month earlier and was now also battling a cold. Knowing that made her performance all the more impressive. She certainly wasn't letting either one slow her down. While she did have to frequently stop between songs to drink something, once the music started, she was right back at it, belting out the songs with incredible force and commanding the stage as though nothing were wrong.
The set moved between songs from the band's 2025 album New Addiction and their upcoming album Ghost, including “Bad Omen,” “Morally Incompetent,” “Seasonal Depression,” “Nervous Wreck,” “Teeth,” and “Ghost.”
At one point, Max instructed the crowd to crouch down as low as they could. When the chorus hit, everyone jumped up—and judging by the amount of bouncing happening throughout the rest of the set, they didn't really need much encouragement to keep moving.
This was clearly an audience full of longtime fans. They sang along to every word, clutching their signed merch and watching the band with stars in their eyes. The crowd may have been small, but the devotion was anything but.
The Haunt's second album, Ghost, arrives October 30, just in time for Halloween. And honestly, there may not be a better soundtrack for a night spent staying up too late, eating Halloween candy and embracing your darker side. If the power and theatricality of this performance are any indication, Ghost is going to be well worth the wait.
For one night in Asbury Park, The Haunt turned the House of Independents into their own little gothic playground and Anastasia proved that even after everything her body had been through, she could still step onto a stage and command it. Whatever challenges she was facing offstage, under those lights, she was completely in her element.