The Hanging Stranger

The Hanging Stranger is a science fiction novella by Philip K. Dick, first published in 1953.

After a hard day's work at his basement, Ed Loyce starts his Packard and drives in the direction of his TV Sales Store. In the City Square he is startled to find a haggard bundle hanging from the solitary lamp-post beside the drinking fountain. A closer examination reveals the horrifying fact that the ragged bundle is indeed that of a dead man in a state of advanced death and decay.

But when he calls attention to the morbid display, the strange reactions of his friends and neighbours bring him to a disturbing realization.

The Hanging Stranger was first published in Science Fiction Adventures Magazine December 1953. 

Philip Kendrick Dick (1928-1982) was an American science fiction author. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states.

In addition to 44 published novels, Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime.

Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, ten popular films based on his works have been produced, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, and The Adjustment Bureau. 

In 2005, Time magazine named Dick one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.