Adam Parfrey was an American journalist, author, and publisher known for his work on unusual, extreme, and often "forbidden" subjects. He was the founder of Feral House, a publishing company that explored marginal aspects of culture. Before Feral House, he published magazines like IDEA and EXIT, and co-founded Amok Press. His work often delved into controversial areas, including serial killers, sexuality, Nazism, and apocalyptic themes. Parfrey himself described his political leanings as "a pot-smoking libertarian," and he published authors from across the political spectrum, stating that he didn't necessarily endorse the views he published. He often cited his Jewish ancestry to counter accusations of fascist sympathies.

Parfrey's most recognized book was "Apocalypse Culture," which explored various fringe cultural elements and achieved significant sales. Feral House published a diverse range of titles, including works on occultism, counterculture, and conspiracy theories, influencing films and media. He also co-founded Process Media and was involved with the "occult-fascist" collective Abraxas Foundation. Parfrey lived in Los Angeles and later Port Townsend, Washington, and passed away in 2018 following complications from strokes.

Adam Parfrey's career was largely defined by his publishing ventures, which consistently focused on topics considered unusual, extreme, or taboo by mainstream society. His early ventures included experimental magazines like IDEA and EXIT, the latter of which he described with George Petros as an "outlaw liberal Fascist Sci-Fi Pop Art magazine" and featured content on serial killers, sexuality, and Nazism. In 1987, he co-founded Amok Press, releasing titles such as an English translation of Joseph Goebbels' novel "Michael." Parfrey's most notable publishing initiative was Feral House, founded in 1989, which became a significant platform for exploring marginal aspects of culture, including occultism, conspiracy theories, and transgressive art. Feral House published works that often shed light on subjects society preferred to ignore, catering to interests in darker and more unconventional aspects of life. He also co-founded Process Media in 2005.

Parfrey's book "Apocalypse Culture," first published by Amok Press in 1987 and later expanded by Feral House, stands as a seminal work in his bibliography. This collection of articles, interviews, and documents delved into various fringe elements of culture, particularly those related to apocalyptic visions, millennialism, and utopia. It became his most successful book, selling a substantial number of copies. The themes explored in "Apocalypse Culture" and other Feral House publications often touched upon the fringes of belief systems, countercultures, and societal anxieties, aligning with what a 2010 profile described as shedding light on subjects society prefers to leave unexplored. His work, particularly through Feral House, is noted for influencing films and media related to conspiracy and counterculture.

While Adam Parfrey published authors with a wide range of extremist political views, including fascists and neo-Nazis, he also published anarchists, leftists, and liberals. He characterized himself as "a pot-smoking libertarian" and publicly stated that he did not necessarily agree with the viewpoints of all the authors he published. He expressed a general disdain for establishment norms, remarking that "Everything the establishment extols as comfortable and right and good makes me sick." Despite his engagement with controversial and sometimes far-right figures and themes, Parfrey frequently pointed to his Jewish ancestry as a means to deflect accusations of fascist sympathies. His correspondence in the 1980s with figures like James Mason revealed racist views, which he framed as ideological camouflage for the non-right-wing books he also published.

“Everything the establishment extols as comfortable and right and good makes me sick.”