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Strange Company
A queer horror collection that blends music and prose to bring its haunted worlds to life.
Prepare for a chilling journey from a ruined church in Philadelphia, where the spirit that lurks is far from benign to a Prohibition-era New Orleans jazz club, where a young man finds the love of his life - if he can live through the night; from a Detroit cemetery, where teenaged rituals have unforeseen consequences to a deserted beach in an unknown place, where two sisters let the ocean decide their fate; from the Jersey Shore, where the magic of a wistful summer could tear reality apart; to a Michigan high school, where a teenager finds the mystery man of his dreams who’s with him everywhere - and forever.
Written by Roan Parrish and with original music by Timmi Meskers inspired equally by the baroque and by 1980s horror movie soundtracks, Strange Company explores the places where the ordinary world breaks down into the inexplicable, the maddening, the dreadful.
“Strange Company is a wonderfully creepy and endlessly inventive collection of dark tales! Roan Parrish conjures real darkness here. Highly recommended!” (Jonathan Maberry, NY Times best-selling author of Ink and V-Wars)
"These are the queer horror stories I've been waiting for." (Kirsty Logan, author of The Things We Say in the Dark and The Sound at the End)
Prepare for a chilling journey from a ruined church in Philadelphia, where the spirit that lurks is far from benign to a Prohibition-era New Orleans jazz club, where a young man finds the love of his life - if he can live through the night; from a Detroit cemetery, where teenaged rituals have unforeseen consequences to a deserted beach in an unknown place, where two sisters let the ocean decide their fate; from the Jersey Shore, where the magic of a wistful summer could tear reality apart; to a Michigan high school, where a teenager finds the mystery man of his dreams who’s with him everywhere - and forever.
Written by Roan Parrish and with original music by Timmi Meskers inspired equally by the baroque and by 1980s horror movie soundtracks, Strange Company explores the places where the ordinary world breaks down into the inexplicable, the maddening, the dreadful.
“Strange Company is a wonderfully creepy and endlessly inventive collection of dark tales! Roan Parrish conjures real darkness here. Highly recommended!” (Jonathan Maberry, NY Times best-selling author of Ink and V-Wars)
"These are the queer horror stories I've been waiting for." (Kirsty Logan, author of The Things We Say in the Dark and The Sound at the End)
Audible Audio
First published June 10, 2021
6 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Roan Parrish
37 books2,384 followersRoan Parrish lives in Philadelphia, where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre.
When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique.
She is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency.
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When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique.
She is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency.
Roan's Newsletter
Roan's Facebook Group
Roan on Twitter
Roan on Instagram
Roan’s website
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 24, 2021
A train can stop in its track, yes, but the grinding and screaming and sparks of metal choking metal were not something you welcomed for just any rabbit or fox that got in its path. What was large enough to stop for when stopping was, itself, a violence?Roan Parrish was one of my favourite romance writers that I discovered in 2020, and when I like a writer enough, I'll follow them almost anywhere. So... anthology of queer, subtle, weird horror? Sure! I had a really good time with this short anthology of horror stories. It's the kind of horror that I tend to gravitate towards; nothing actually very scary, but paranormal situations that are weird and melancholic and creepy and unsettling. No romance here, though there are m/m and f/f love stories/relationships that I either really enjoyed or were heart-wrenching and insightful to read about. I really loved her writing; Parrish has a way about talking about love and longing and yearning that makes me want to clutch my chest. She'll use descriptions and metaphors that won't ever really occur to me, but fit so perfectly with the situation or the character that's on the page. I was really entranced by all of these stories, so much so that I kinda forgot that they weren't romance, and then... well, I was eventually reminded of that. Because they aren't romance. But still so, so good.
“Love is like drinking blood. If it's not enough, you’ll always feel unsatisfied. But you have to know when to stop, or it’ll ruin you both.”
Listened to the audiobook as read by Elizabeth Evans, Michael Crouch, Vikas Adam and Ellen Archer, and it was really good! It was one of those Audible originals that had a bunch of original music composed for it, and I really enjoyed it. The production quality was high and the music really did add to the atmosphere and creepiness. And all of the narrators were great, but Michael Crouch was a stand out for me; he just has one of those voices I love. My favourite stories ended up being "Mayfair" and "Touched". I liked this so much; my fingers are crossed that Parrish has some full length f/f romance in her future!
Content warnings: .
Maybe sometimes the most moral thing you can be is an instrument.
August 5, 2021
For my 80s synth pop and horror fans, this is a fun Audible listen. Here’s the overview I missed: this audio book is 6 short stories all set to music. Kind of like listening to someone describe a horror movie while the soundtrack plays in the background.
For the stories: Sea Legs is fantastic and will stick with me for a long time. Super creepy. Mayfair and Rose Window are really good. Magic Lantern was not bad. I hated Touch. I don’t mind descriptions of a love scene but the whole story was about his young male lovers. I couldn’t get through Company. When the teen boy yells, “You really drink blood!?”, I completely lost it.
The book is definitely not for kids and teens, even though some of the stories are about teens. My criticism to the author would be to have a better understanding of who they want their audience to be.
For the stories: Sea Legs is fantastic and will stick with me for a long time. Super creepy. Mayfair and Rose Window are really good. Magic Lantern was not bad. I hated Touch. I don’t mind descriptions of a love scene but the whole story was about his young male lovers. I couldn’t get through Company. When the teen boy yells, “You really drink blood!?”, I completely lost it.
The book is definitely not for kids and teens, even though some of the stories are about teens. My criticism to the author would be to have a better understanding of who they want their audience to be.
February 2, 2022
Had a lot of fun listening to these stories and enjoyed the atmospheric music.
June 27, 2021
This was an awesome surprise, that I started on a whim through Audible Plus (because why not) 'cause the cover looked fun and weird. I loved the first 2 stories Mayfair and Touched, and though the setup of supernatural-sensitive protagonists was kinda similar, the settings and characters were fun. Company was an intriguing, fantastical twist on Interview with the Vampire fandom. Sea Legs was ok. But the real gem for me here was Rose Window: a great story about a toxic relationship with some supernatural stuff going on in the background (there's a great potential indie horror movie there). Magic Lantern was pretty fun too. Overall, really enjoyable and I liked that the queer characters were just who they were, and that their queerness was not the conflict. Oh and the Audible production on this was great with a perfect set of readers (how often can you say that?), and some cool interlude music, reminiscent of creepy 80's movies or Stranger Things. Moral of the story, always judge books and albums by their covers.
July 19, 2022
Audible Review
Overall 3 out of 5 stars
Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Story 3 out of 5 stars
Twisted and haunting.
Very twisted and haunting collection of stories- reminiscent of old Twilight Zone episodes.
The narrators were excellent, definitely made this worth a listen. I didn't even really mind the music, it was very atmospheric and felt right with this type of audiobook.
Overall 3 out of 5 stars
Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Story 3 out of 5 stars
Twisted and haunting.
Very twisted and haunting collection of stories- reminiscent of old Twilight Zone episodes.
The narrators were excellent, definitely made this worth a listen. I didn't even really mind the music, it was very atmospheric and felt right with this type of audiobook.
June 20, 2021
It feels so refreshing to finally read a book with queer characters and not have the focus be on their queerness.
March 31, 2024
Book 6 for me for the 2024 Trans Rights Readathon. This year, I'll be making a donation to LGBT Youthline.
Rounding up from 4.5 stars
This book was a surprise. Definitely darker and creepier than most books I read but each story was compelling and I thought it was some of Roan Parrish's best writing. I wasn't sure how I felt about the musical accompaniment at first but I have to say that it did elevate the experience. I think the stories got stronger over time and there were some really memorable characters mixed in. And it's included when you have Audible. Definitely recommend picking this up if you have a subscription in general but it would be even better to read it in October.
Rounding up from 4.5 stars
This book was a surprise. Definitely darker and creepier than most books I read but each story was compelling and I thought it was some of Roan Parrish's best writing. I wasn't sure how I felt about the musical accompaniment at first but I have to say that it did elevate the experience. I think the stories got stronger over time and there were some really memorable characters mixed in. And it's included when you have Audible. Definitely recommend picking this up if you have a subscription in general but it would be even better to read it in October.
December 4, 2022
Заметка самому себе: всегда проверять автора перед тем, как браться за книгу, поведясь на аннотацию. Обещали сборник квир-хоррор-рассказов в духе “Баек из склепа” с музыкальным саундтреком, как в ужастиках 80-х., а на деле – перегруженное описаниями и сексуальными сценами фэнтези с дженерик музычкой. Оказалось, что авторша — очередная пышная дама с кошками, которая сочиняет ММ-романсы и в графе “о себе” пишет: “Когда не работает над книгой, она стрижет друзей, слоняется по городу и готовит сложные блюда. Однажды испекла (а может, не испекла) шестислойный шоколадный торт и выбросила его в окно в порыве гнева”. Get outta here.
Напекут своих тортов и придумывают потом дурную фантастику о вечно чистых и промытых геях, готовых к сексу в любых условиях, и ведьмах-лесбиянках с магией домашнего очага и женского естества.
Напекут своих тортов и придумывают потом дурную фантастику о вечно чистых и промытых геях, готовых к сексу в любых условиях, и ведьмах-лесбиянках с магией домашнего очага и женского естества.
July 24, 2021
If gay sex offends you, forget this. The story lines are varied and imaginative. Horror? Maybe. More like paranormal.
July 17, 2021
The sensory details in this are amazing even though sometimes it was hard to follow.
July 9, 2021
Interesting stories, love the LGBTQ represenation. It gets better after Mayfair
September 26, 2021
Like most short story collections, it was slightly hit or miss. I think the weakest stories were Mayfair and Rose Window. Mayfair just didn't feel like it had much point, and the twist ending was weak. Rose Window had an interesting premise but I wish it had used the supernatural elements more fully.
My favorites were Touched and Sea Legs.
Touched isn't a particularly new story premise, focusing on a young man in 1920s New Orleans who sometimes see visions of the future. But it uses the horrors of real history very effectively. The reader knows exactly what it is he is seeing glimpses of and just how horrible that reality will be, while the character can't really comprehend it or do anything to prevent it.
Sea Legs is short and low on details, yet somehow managed to have a big impact. My interpretation was some kind of nuclear event, but I'd be curious to hear other people's theories. It's the one story I'm still thinking about after finishing.
The middling stories for me were Company and Magic Lantern. I thought the human part of Company was stronger than the supernatural element. It just felt a little hard to believe the fictional vampire come to life part of the story (though maybe it's stronger if read as a delusion/hallucination), but Vikas Adam's performance lent the coming of age elements of the story a lot of tenderness. Magic Lantern didn't leave much impression at all, maybe because it was the final story and my mind was already drifting away after almost 6 hours of straight listening.
The stories vary in length from about 20 minutes to an hour and twenty. Easy enough to listen to them individually as you're getting chores done or on a drive. Some probably didn't need to be as long as they were and maybe would have benefited from being edited down to give them more punch.
All of the narrators were competent, some better than others but none unpleasant to listen to. I wish Vikas Adam had more than one story, I thought he was the strongest of the narrators.
Overall it was a pleasant little bit of spookiness for a fall afternoon. I probably wouldn't have paid to own this title, but as a free Plus catalog listen it was worth the time.
My favorites were Touched and Sea Legs.
Touched isn't a particularly new story premise, focusing on a young man in 1920s New Orleans who sometimes see visions of the future. But it uses the horrors of real history very effectively. The reader knows exactly what it is he is seeing glimpses of and just how horrible that reality will be, while the character can't really comprehend it or do anything to prevent it.
Sea Legs is short and low on details, yet somehow managed to have a big impact. My interpretation was some kind of nuclear event, but I'd be curious to hear other people's theories. It's the one story I'm still thinking about after finishing.
The middling stories for me were Company and Magic Lantern. I thought the human part of Company was stronger than the supernatural element. It just felt a little hard to believe the fictional vampire come to life part of the story (though maybe it's stronger if read as a delusion/hallucination), but Vikas Adam's performance lent the coming of age elements of the story a lot of tenderness. Magic Lantern didn't leave much impression at all, maybe because it was the final story and my mind was already drifting away after almost 6 hours of straight listening.
The stories vary in length from about 20 minutes to an hour and twenty. Easy enough to listen to them individually as you're getting chores done or on a drive. Some probably didn't need to be as long as they were and maybe would have benefited from being edited down to give them more punch.
All of the narrators were competent, some better than others but none unpleasant to listen to. I wish Vikas Adam had more than one story, I thought he was the strongest of the narrators.
Overall it was a pleasant little bit of spookiness for a fall afternoon. I probably wouldn't have paid to own this title, but as a free Plus catalog listen it was worth the time.
May 3, 2024
The first two stories in the collection were by far my favorite! Every story afterward was a little less interesting then one before but I can see myself listening to this again. The depiction of gay sex is 5/5 stars.
June 30, 2021
This audiobook was a pleasant surprise. The horror elements were less than what I hoped for, but the narratives and characters more than made up for it. The music is well done and adds to the overall ambience without distracting from the story. The love stories feel natural and authentic, which is difficult to do.
One story, Touched, is FANTASTIC. I wish this was a full length novel. I fell in love with this story and only wish it had more time to dig in and go deeper. Absolutely beautiful. If the author ever released a longer version, I would pay for it in a heartbeat.
Another story, Company, is pretty bad and worth skipping. Although the narrator gives a fair performance, the story itself is out of place with the quality of the other stories.
All in all, definitely worth a listen. Skip Company and listen to Touched twice.
One story, Touched, is FANTASTIC. I wish this was a full length novel. I fell in love with this story and only wish it had more time to dig in and go deeper. Absolutely beautiful. If the author ever released a longer version, I would pay for it in a heartbeat.
Another story, Company, is pretty bad and worth skipping. Although the narrator gives a fair performance, the story itself is out of place with the quality of the other stories.
All in all, definitely worth a listen. Skip Company and listen to Touched twice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2021
Rose window: about a haunted church being torn down, but is the church actually haunted or the young woman living an unhappy life next door to the church?
Magic Lantern: poor high school girl gets teased and tormented to the length she makes friends with an old woman next door, are they witches? Most likely. Is this girl cursed to bring about doom? Also yes, but why? You'll never know.
Overall thoughts? It was good. Lots of weird and strange tales. Some are obvious about what the wickedness is, others not so much. I really enjoyed that the main characters in each of these stories is queer. The narrator's did a great job as well.
Magic Lantern: poor high school girl gets teased and tormented to the length she makes friends with an old woman next door, are they witches? Most likely. Is this girl cursed to bring about doom? Also yes, but why? You'll never know.
Overall thoughts? It was good. Lots of weird and strange tales. Some are obvious about what the wickedness is, others not so much. I really enjoyed that the main characters in each of these stories is queer. The narrator's did a great job as well.
August 3, 2021
*Unexpected: There are very graphic sex scenes in at least 2 stories*
This was beautiful and touching and disturbing and made me remember why I love short stories as well as novels.
Although a couple didn't appeal to me quite as much as the others, I liked them all.
It made me want more, but unfortunately, all of the author's other work appears to be just regular romance, which I am a hard no on (these largely include romance but were ABOUT individuality and supernatural elements).
I hope she decides to write more like this!
This was beautiful and touching and disturbing and made me remember why I love short stories as well as novels.
Although a couple didn't appeal to me quite as much as the others, I liked them all.
It made me want more, but unfortunately, all of the author's other work appears to be just regular romance, which I am a hard no on (these largely include romance but were ABOUT individuality and supernatural elements).
I hope she decides to write more like this!
April 22, 2023
Didn't finish this one. Got through the first three stories and had to stop. This book doesn't come across in its marketing as a series of dark romance novellas but that's what it is. I wanted less immaturity to the horror concepts presented. More focus on antagonists and well built literary obstacles rather dramatic teenagers just running around banging each other between visits of ghosts.
October 9, 2025
I'm not really sure how to rate this. Parrish's prose is beautiful in the same way that it always is.
I might not be the best person to review short stories because I'm usually left a little wanting no matter how good they are.
I enjoyed most of these stories, though Touched and Companion were my favorites overall.
I might not be the best person to review short stories because I'm usually left a little wanting no matter how good they are.
I enjoyed most of these stories, though Touched and Companion were my favorites overall.
July 26, 2021
I could not get into this at all. I was ready to "DNF" this an hour in, but I'm committed to give each book the benefit of the doubt and see it all the way through. Especially since this was only a 6 hour audiobook. Still it was a chore to commit to finish the whole thing.
July 28, 2021
Roan and Timmi created one of the most incredible collaborations of 2021 that I have read so far. All the stories were intriguing in their own storylines and the musical score provided great pacing and drama. I need more collaborations like this!
April 25, 2022
This was an extremely interesting compilation of short stories. While I liked some more than others (Touched and Magic Lantern were particular faves) they all had subtle twists that sparks intrigue and questions.
September 10, 2022
The only stories in this anthology I really enjoyed are Touched which is the 1920s Nola with a seer who sees futures when touching people and Company about a boy being haunted by a vampire from a pulp novel and slowly losing his mind
June 16, 2021
Less horror than unsettling, it’s an interesting collection that leaves you wanting more.
June 17, 2021
3.5 stars
dnf
June 25, 2021June 2021
after I should have dnf-d the other audiobook I wasn't enjoying but gave another chance I have no desire to give this one, and the start of the second story didn't grab me so 🤷
after I should have dnf-d the other audiobook I wasn't enjoying but gave another chance I have no desire to give this one, and the start of the second story didn't grab me so 🤷
Read
July 4, 2021A fun summertime listen.
July 18, 2021
This was a fantastic set of short stories!
September 29, 2021
Mayfair - 5/5
Touched - 2/5
Company - 3.5/5
Sea Legs - 3/5
Rose Window - 5/5
Magic Lantern - 5/5
Touched - 2/5
Company - 3.5/5
Sea Legs - 3/5
Rose Window - 5/5
Magic Lantern - 5/5
October 24, 2021
Very atmospheric music, wonderful narration, spooky stories. The story "Company" was my favorite.
November 16, 2022
Strange
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews