Welcome to Maplewood-Sparta, where suburban streets are lined with shadows.
Some say the 90s are dead and gone. But here, they linger.
So gather close for a story of Thanksgiving 1994, a good Catholic boy with a beastly hunger, and a hayride to hell.
I call it: THE CORDS
On Thanksgiving, two boys and two girls take a haunted hayride into the woods—where hunger, desire, and an ancient evil wait in the shadows of 1994.
Fifteen-year-old Kevin is caught between the noise of his big Irish family and the endless ache of adolescent hunger—physical, emotional, and something deeper he can’t quite name.
When a restless bike ride with his best friend Gabe leads them to the shuttered Maplewood Apple Farm, a chance encounter with two mysterious girls sets the stage for a truly haunted hayride. As dusk falls and the wagon rumbles into the cold woods, the group is drawn into a chilling tale of the Wendigo—an ancient spirit of insatiable hunger—and confronted by eerie happenings that blur the line between myth and reality.
Campfire Rating for THE CORDS
🔥 Campfire (Mature Teen / 16+)
Advisory: Creature horror and sustained peril; teen sexual themes (non-graphic); underage smoking; brief strong language, sin/shame themes.
Campfire Scale
To help listeners choose the right vibe for their listening, each episode will be marked with a rating on our Campfire Scale.
Listen to the Burned CD
Music plays a huge role in THE CORDS and I’ve re-created what I imagine might be on Kevin’s burnt CD on Spotify, for those who want to take the music of THE CORDS with them.
Meet the Narrator
Born and raised in Washington Heights, Kelvin Melendez is a Dominican actor and writer. His passion for voice acting has allowed him to explore so many different mediums from audio dramas to video games and more. He’s best known for playing an FBI agent in Deli as well as a writer on the upcoming wrestling short film, Dos Golpes.
IMDb: Kelvin Melendez
“The best one yet! Kelvin does a wonderful narration. Thank you for sharing these wonderful stories of the 90s with us.”
— Scott L, Massachusetts
Meet the Writer
It’s me!
Like my writing? There’s more where that came from at Legends of the Lost Substack—where I share my personal essays, research, stories, and writing about writing. And hang out with me on Instagram @miraclefieldnotes.
The Spartans! Series
SPARTANS! is a teen ghost story anthology—think “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” meets haunted mixtapes and 90s nostalgia.
Written by Nina Alvarez and narrated by professional voice actors, each episode is tied to a different haunted 90s wearable: a leather jacket, a friendship bracelet, a choker, a flannel . . . And to a holiday. Homecoming, Halloween, Christmas . . . The kind of objects and moments that carry memory, grief, and magic.
So gather close for spooky campfire tales woven together stand by strand like a friendship bracelet.
Show Schedule
On the second-to-last Wednesday of every month, we’ll premier a new episode—working out the kinks, building community, and (fingers crossed) raising funds to secure the music rights to someday be able to release it with the commercial music on major podcast platforms. For now, though, you’ll hear the music as it was meant to be—just for our private campfire circle.
Paid subscribers will get early access to the episode on Mondays, two days before free subscribers.
And all episodes will post without the commercial music to Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon Music, and Audible the following Friday.
SPARTANS! Behind-the-Scenes
Follow @Spartans_Radio for episode updates, audio, pics, behind-the-scenes, 90s nostalgia, and Easter eggs.
The Word on the Suburban Streets
“Just listened to THE JACKET. It was so good. I had chills at the end.”
— Juliette P, New York“I believe your writing is valuable because of my instant response to it. I immediately felt in sync with the tone of the story telling for the campfire series. I found myself listening to the first two chapters (THE JACKET and THE BRACELET) over and over—then even shared with it my students, who loved it. I became a paid subscriber to get early access to new episodes.”
— Jen S, New York“We listened to THE JACKET last night as our bedtime story. We lit a candle. I felt like I had crawled into the main character’s skin—into the leather jacket. It was such a refreshing way to spend the evening, so counter to the media culture of TV and phones. People are going to love it.”
— Rebecca Joy, Massachusetts“Well, this has become my favorite podcast to listen to.”
— Kristina D, Maryland
Join the Campfire Circle
For discussion, 90s nostalgia, and behind-the-scenes fun, join our Campfire Circle Facebook group.
For early access to episodes, extra behind-the-scenes content, and to help fund voice actors, sound design software, and music rights, become a paid subscriber at The Codex, Legends of the Lost, or join our Patreon at the Spartans! tier.
We’ll see you by the fire.
The Spartans aren’t finished with you yet.
-Nina
