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Float
A Tales from the Canyons of the Damned Short Story
Originally published In Tales from the Canyons of the Damned No.3
Be nice to the elderly. You are going to be old one day.
Josh has lost touch with what really matters. Life and love for his fellow man. Getting taught a lesson is never easy, but it is always necessary.
Greed is not good. In this psychological horror that is a common theme for our day.
We all Float sooner or later.
A Tales from the Canyons of the Damned Short Story
Originally published In Tales from the Canyons of the Damned No.3
Be nice to the elderly. You are going to be old one day.
Josh has lost touch with what really matters. Life and love for his fellow man. Getting taught a lesson is never easy, but it is always necessary.
Greed is not good. In this psychological horror that is a common theme for our day.
We all Float sooner or later.
A Tales from the Canyons of the Damned Short Story
17 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 4, 2016
About the author
Ernie Howard
70 books88 followersErnie Howard was born on January 29,1977 during a Minnesota blizzard. His two story telling parents almost didn't make it to the hospital in their beat up blue Cadillac.
Ernie is the author of The Pool, A World Without, Walter, and Float, a short story that recently appeared in Tales from the Canyons of the Damned.
All of these books are available on Kindle.
Ernie lives with his wife and 3 boys in Henderson, NV, where he dreams up new stories, and tries to live everyday to the fullest.
.
Find all of his titles here http://www.amazon.com/Ernie-Howard/e/...
Ernie is the author of The Pool, A World Without, Walter, and Float, a short story that recently appeared in Tales from the Canyons of the Damned.
All of these books are available on Kindle.
Ernie lives with his wife and 3 boys in Henderson, NV, where he dreams up new stories, and tries to live everyday to the fullest.
.
Find all of his titles here http://www.amazon.com/Ernie-Howard/e/...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 16, 2021
This is a 4.5 star read.
This was a rip snorter of a short story that would not look at all out of place on Creepshow!
This was a rip snorter of a short story that would not look at all out of place on Creepshow!
October 8, 2016
"the pod hatch was already open, waiting like a hungry alligator."
A short scary story to remind you to be kind to older people because someday, sooner than you'd like, that's going to be you!
I'd like to thank Randy from Horror Aficionados for constantly updating his free story thread.
December 19, 2016
Pods
I have been in sensory adept ovation tanks before. Because of Ernie, I will never look at them the same again - nor will I ever get in another one! Ernie is a talented writer, and I can't wait to read more of his work!
I have been in sensory adept ovation tanks before. Because of Ernie, I will never look at them the same again - nor will I ever get in another one! Ernie is a talented writer, and I can't wait to read more of his work!
June 14, 2023
An entertaining short story about Josh, a rich wall street banker, who owns a sensory deprivation pod that he has no intention of letting anyone else try out.
I went from thinking Josh was a selfish prick to thinking that just because he has something others want doesn't mean he has to share it. It is his property, after all.
But when Josh refuses his elderly, cancer-riddled neighbour, things soon become a nightmare for Josh.
I've always wanted to try a sensory deprivation tank to see what it would be like. Now, I'm not so sure. It could be shit.
I went from thinking Josh was a selfish prick to thinking that just because he has something others want doesn't mean he has to share it. It is his property, after all.
But when Josh refuses his elderly, cancer-riddled neighbour, things soon become a nightmare for Josh.
I've always wanted to try a sensory deprivation tank to see what it would be like. Now, I'm not so sure. It could be shit.
November 23, 2017
Eerie, but good
No matter who you are in the world, all end up leaving differently as we came in... so good too!
No matter who you are in the world, all end up leaving differently as we came in... so good too!
October 8, 2017
According to the description, “Float,” a short story by Ernie Howard, is 17 pages long. Assuming that’s so (and it seems about accurate), 16 of those pages are examples of some of the best writing you will see in this particular genre. The seventeenth, however, is not, and as a result, the story ends on a bit of a disappointing note.
“Float” is the story of an obnoxious Wall Street up-and-comer named Josh who has a low opinion of pretty much everyone around him who isn’t as well off as he is. The one thing he does cherish is his state-of-the-art sensory deprivation tank located in the basement of his apartment building, where he spends his leisure hours in peaceful solitude. Josh bribed the building super to let him keep the storage room containing the tank locked, and no one is allowed to touch or get near his pride and joy, especially his elderly neighbor, Mr. Oatman, who unsuccessfully begs Josh to let him use the tank.
Anyone who has ever seen an episode of Tales from the Crypt can guess that the extremely self-centered and callous Josh is just cruisin’ for a bruisin’ and author Howard does not disappoint. The exact nature of what happens to Josh may come as a bit of a surprise, but the author handles his description of the events rather well, and it’s easy to buy into what happens, given the usual amount of suspension of disbelief that occurs in stories like “Float.” The author also keeps the story moving at a crisp pace without any padding or lazy descriptions, providing brief but effective thumbnails of Josh and another main character. There isn’t room in a story this short to create truly memorable characters, but the author sketches in enough details to allow the story to work.
About one page from the end of “Float,” something rather shocking occurs. Had the story ended there, and it could easily have done so with only a small bit of editing, “Float” would have been a terrific short story. Unfortunately, the author does add another page, one that’s jarringly out of tone with the first part of the story and reads almost as if it were tacked on by an editor who didn’t really appreciate the bulk of “Float.” That last page doesn’t ruin the story—the run-up to that point is far too good—but it is a bit confusing and does lessen the impact of what went on before.
I’ve never experienced a sensory deprivation tank (and, after reading “Float,” I have no desire to do so), but some people find them quite relaxing. It’s safe to say that Josh found it anything but relaxing, and the author takes advantage of the nature of the deprivation tank to create some very powerful, and very disturbing imagery towards the end of the story. I really wish the author had ended the story one page earlier, but even with the story’s actual ending, “Float” packs quite a punch. Readers who enjoy horror stories like this one should not deprive themselves of “Float.”
“Float” is the story of an obnoxious Wall Street up-and-comer named Josh who has a low opinion of pretty much everyone around him who isn’t as well off as he is. The one thing he does cherish is his state-of-the-art sensory deprivation tank located in the basement of his apartment building, where he spends his leisure hours in peaceful solitude. Josh bribed the building super to let him keep the storage room containing the tank locked, and no one is allowed to touch or get near his pride and joy, especially his elderly neighbor, Mr. Oatman, who unsuccessfully begs Josh to let him use the tank.
Anyone who has ever seen an episode of Tales from the Crypt can guess that the extremely self-centered and callous Josh is just cruisin’ for a bruisin’ and author Howard does not disappoint. The exact nature of what happens to Josh may come as a bit of a surprise, but the author handles his description of the events rather well, and it’s easy to buy into what happens, given the usual amount of suspension of disbelief that occurs in stories like “Float.” The author also keeps the story moving at a crisp pace without any padding or lazy descriptions, providing brief but effective thumbnails of Josh and another main character. There isn’t room in a story this short to create truly memorable characters, but the author sketches in enough details to allow the story to work.
About one page from the end of “Float,” something rather shocking occurs. Had the story ended there, and it could easily have done so with only a small bit of editing, “Float” would have been a terrific short story. Unfortunately, the author does add another page, one that’s jarringly out of tone with the first part of the story and reads almost as if it were tacked on by an editor who didn’t really appreciate the bulk of “Float.” That last page doesn’t ruin the story—the run-up to that point is far too good—but it is a bit confusing and does lessen the impact of what went on before.
I’ve never experienced a sensory deprivation tank (and, after reading “Float,” I have no desire to do so), but some people find them quite relaxing. It’s safe to say that Josh found it anything but relaxing, and the author takes advantage of the nature of the deprivation tank to create some very powerful, and very disturbing imagery towards the end of the story. I really wish the author had ended the story one page earlier, but even with the story’s actual ending, “Float” packs quite a punch. Readers who enjoy horror stories like this one should not deprive themselves of “Float.”
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews