The Hanging Stranger
Written by Philip K. Dick
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“The Hanging Stranger” is a Scifi, horror, short story written by Philip K. Dick and first published in 1953. This short story can be found in “The Collected Stories Of Philip K. Dick” or “Second Variety and Other Classic Stories by Philip K. Dick” and it was reprinted in several anthologies. It became an episode of the 2017 TV series “Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams” under the name “Kill All Others” or “KAO“. “The Hanging Stranger” is a disturbing blend of the Scifi and horror genres.

The Hanging Stranger, PKD The Project Gutenberg webpage

The Hanging Stranger, PKD – Goodread webpage

PKD Goodreads webpage

“The Hanging Stranger” is the story of Ed Loyce who sees a stranger hanging from a lamp post on his way back to his shop. The stranger wears a muddy, gray, tattered suit and is twisting in the wind with a chilling foreboding. The hanging stranger is dead as a doorknob. This hanging stranger has the feel of a lynching in the South during segregation. It’s beyond disturbing and Ed reacts to it as any sane person would. He yells out to the people around him but strangely enough nobody pays it any mind. They go about their lives as if it weren’t there, or more precisely, as if it were a simple leaf blowing in the wind or a bird flying by. This is a beginning to the tale that is beyond the strange. To add to the strangeness everyone else sees it so it is not a question of a hallucination or an invisible being or such. How could people just walk by such a sight? And who committed such a horrible crime? This kind of reaction from public hangings happened during lynchings across America when everybody either vocally or quietly supported the horrible crime. But this was not a lynching. This was the case of a stranger showing up hung from a light post for reasons unknown. And to add to the strangeness, the men Ed informs of the crime were dressed as cops but were not cops and their reaction was the same as everyone else. So begins a strange scifi tale.

The story continues to get stranger and stranger as Ed discovers what is really going on in his town. And this is unfortunate for him. (I won’t give away any spoilers.)

The story element of the protagonist seeing a hanging body from a lamp post at the very beginning of the story captivates us immediately. And the reason for it, that we find out in the end, makes this a brilliant story. Like I’ve said so many times before, Philip K. Dick is brilliant at conjuring great story endings and this is no exception. That’s jus one of the reasons I enjoy his work so much. The ending is messed up and might give you a sinister chuckle.

Historically, the hanging body was used in towns and places as intimidation from invading armies or bands of criminals to towns subjugated. In places suffering from lawlessness a town hung criminals or alleged criminals after a speedy and usually flawed trial. But this was usually done outside of town. Lynchings and the hanging of the dead bodies were committed against innocent African American people in the American South by terrorist organizations like the KKK or nazi groups were done for reasons to humiliate and subjugate them. But in this story the hanging man serves a purpose entirely different from any of these reasons. The ending of the story is really messed up for Ed.

This is a fantastic short story that is worth the read. So, read “The Hanging Stranger” by Philip K. Dick. You’ll enjoy it.

John Ink2Quill

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