Entry No. 017 — Episode 4: THE CHAIN (Spartans!)
Merry Krampus!
This month’s episode of SPARTANS! comes a week early so Jenny can have her moment.
You wouldn’t want to piss her off, would you?
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 the Winter Solstice 1994, a Chanel double chain belt, and a mean girl’s Krampus curse.
I call it: THE CHAIN
Before we step into the Christmas party, a quick reminder: The Codex is made up of a few different sections—General Newsletter, Camp Cosmographia Radio, and SPARTANS!—and you can choose which ones to you want to receive here.
Set in Maplewood-Sparta during a blizzard on the Winter Solstice of 1994, THE CHAIN is a bottle episode: a single night that shatters a high-school hierarchy.
Alison hosts a lavish Christmas party at her family’s old house, where the most popular girls in school gather—led by Jenny, their magnetic but cruel queen bee. Dressed in black velvet and a gold Chanel chain, Jenny rules the room with sharp smiles and quieter resentments, especially toward her friend Gabriella, whose effortless confidence has begun to eclipse hers.
Among the guests is Patrick, who serves as the story’s narrator. Patrick entertains the group by telling a legend about Krampus—the Christmas demon who punishes “those who deserve it” with chains and whips.
Jenny, half-mocking and half-tempting fate, rings a sleigh bell and calls him out: “Hey, Krampus. Bring me Chanel or go to hell.” From that moment, the party unravels. Jenny’s casual cruelties begin manifesting as supernatural punishments.
A blend of 90s teen drama, Christmas horror, and moral fable, THE CHAIN is a story about envy, image, and the price of cruelty.
Campfire Rating for THE CHAIN
🔥 Campfire (Mature Teen / 16+)
Advisory: Body horror (self-harm/bleeding, compulsive eating, supernatural possession); teen bullying and psychological cruelty; alcohol use; mild profanity; demonic/hell 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 Patrick’s MiniDisc
The music from THE CHAIN on Spotify:
Meet the Narrator
Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Sean Oblak is an actor of CHamoru descent. A passion for literature, theater, film, TV, and video games has led him to hone his creative talents in the intersection of all his interests: voice acting. His voice may be heard in animation, audiobooks, and around the campfire of Maplewood-Sparta.
IMDb: Sean Oblak
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
