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 Valentine’s Day 1995, secret love, and a princess with two faces.
I call it: THE CHOKER
Before we step back to the 90s: 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.
Great. You’re coming with me.
Follow me into the shadows of the mid-’90s, when a secret love and a velvet choker threatened to unravel a princess of Maplewood-Sparta, and where the price of silence is a piece of your soul.
Gabriella (previously introduced in THE JACKET and THE CHAIN) finds herself torn between the expectations of her friends and the reality of her forbidden romance with Ethan—a boy from the wrong side of every social line. Their love is hidden away in a church basement, whispered through mixtapes, and marked by the gift of a velvet choker: a token of devotion and the weight of everything left unsaid.
As the seasons change, Gabriella’s world fractures under the pressure of secrets and betrayals. Mysterious Polaroids begin to circulate, exposing the private shames of her once-invincible friend group, and the line between victim and villain blurs. Haunted by grief, divided selves, and the memory of a boy who changed her forever, Gabriella must finally learn what it truly means to belong.
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.
Campfire Rating for THE CHOKER
🌙 Lantern (Teen / PG-13)
Advisory: Death & grief; bullying/social cruelty; haunting imagery; mild profanity; reference to suicide (Kurt Cobain).
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 Gabriella’s Mixtape
The music from THE CHOKER on Spotify:
Meet the Narrator
D Casellian is a voice actor and aerialist with a mighty need to spice up everyday life with dreamy possibility. Specializing in character work, she can be heard in video games on every major console, as well as in a variety of audio dramas and audiobooks. When not screaming behind the mic or in the air, she enjoys spending time with her kid and her black cat. You can find more of her work at her website, dcasellian.com, or follow her on Instagram (@dcasellian) for quality nonsense.
Meet the Writer
It’s me!
If you 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 behind-the-scenes 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“Thank you for sharing these wonderful stories of the 90s with us.”
— Scott L, Massachusetts“THE CHAIN is awesome! I would LOVE to see a short film of this story with all the transformations of Jenny!”
— Audrey O, Washington
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
