Hanging Man

Single-bar bearish reversal candidate. Same geometry as a Hammer — small body near the top, long lower shadow ≥ 2× body, short upper shadow — but read bearishly because it appears at the top of an uptrend. Same shape, opposite context, opposite interpretation.

Quick reference

Item	Value
Family	Candlestick Patterns
Input type	Candle
Output type	f64 — -1.0 if Hanging Man, 0.0 otherwise
Output range	{-1.0, 0.0}
Default parameters	none — HangingMan::new()
Warmup period	1
Interpretation	Bearish reversal candidate (in uptrend context)

Formula

body         = |close - open|
upper_shadow = high - max(open, close)
lower_shadow = min(open, close) - low

hanging = (lower_shadow >= 2 · body)
       AND (upper_shadow <= body)
       AND (body > 0)

Output is -1.0 when the shape matches, 0.0 otherwise. See crates/wickra-core/src/indicators/hanging_man.rs.

Parameters

None — HangingMan::new() takes no arguments.

Signed ±1 encoding

A Hanging Man is bearish by definition, so under the uniform candlestick sign convention (+1.0 bullish, −1.0 bearish, 0.0 none) it emits −1.0 when the shape matches and 0.0 otherwise — never +1.0. The same geometry read at the bottom of a downtrend is the bullish Hammer, which carries the opposite sign.

Inputs / Outputs

Indicator<Input = Candle, Output = f64>. Python / Node: same shape as Hammer.

Warmup

warmup_period() == 1. Stateless.

Edge cases

• Same shape as Hammer. The indicator emits -1.0 (bearish reading); pair with an uptrend filter externally.
• No trend filter. Shape only — strongly recommended to combine with trend detection because the same shape interpreted as Hammer is bullish.
• Reset. Stateless.

Examples

Rust

use wickra::{Candle, HangingMan, Indicator};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let c = Candle::new(100.0, 101.0, 95.0, 100.5, 1.0, 0)?;
    let mut hm = HangingMan::new();
    println!("{:?}", hm.update(c));  // -1.0
    Ok(())
}

Python

import numpy as np
import wickra as ta

o = np.array([100.0])
h = np.array([101.0])
l = np.array([ 95.0])
c = np.array([100.5])

hm = ta.HangingMan()
print(hm.batch(o, h, l, c))

Node

const wickra = require('wickra');
const hm = new wickra.HangingMan();
console.log(hm.batch([100], [101], [95], [100.5]));

Streaming with uptrend filter

use wickra::{Candle, HangingMan, Indicator, Sma};

let mut hm = HangingMan::new();
let mut sma = Sma::new(50).unwrap();
let candle_stream: Vec<wickra::Candle> = Vec::new(); // your live OHLCV candle feed
for bar in candle_stream {
    let trend = sma.update(bar.close);
    if hm.update(bar) == Some(-1.0) {
        if matches!(trend, Some(s) if bar.close > s) {
            // bearish reversal candidate in confirmed uptrend
        }
    }
}

Interpretation

• Bearish reversal. Most powerful at the top of an uptrend or at established resistance.
• Confirmation required. Many traders require the next bar to close below the Hanging Man's body before acting.
• Same shape, opposite signal. This indicator simply emits the bearish reading of the Hammer shape; it cannot distinguish which context applies — you must.

Common pitfalls

• Acting on shape without trend context. A Hanging Man in a downtrend is just noise. Always pair with a trend / extreme filter.
• Confusing with Hammer. Identical shape. Wickra emits both indicators on the same bar (Hammer reads +1.0, Hanging Man reads -1.0) — your strategy picks which one applies based on trend context.

References

• Steve Nison, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques (1991).

See also

• Hammer — same shape, bullish reading.
• ShootingStar — bearish, with long upper shadow.
• Indicators-Overview — full taxonomy.