The Shadow Man

I found this original pen and ink drawing at a garage sale over the summer.  No context other than I believe it's an illustration for a newspaper, specifically, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I have no idea what's going on here. I probably don't want to know.  The stains add a level of disturbance.

I say "Post-Dispatch" because that appears to be stamped (partially) on the back:

The artist is "Conrey".  I was able to confirm Lee F. Conrey was an artist for the Post-Dispatch from 1904 through 1912. I would have guessed the art was from the 1930's or '40's based on the girl's dress and hair bows.  Doing further research, I found his nephew George Conrey was also an artist for The Post-Dispatch, retiring in 1964.  So it's likely the drawing was done by him.

It's anyone's guess what article the drawing appeared with, but obviously something gruesome.  In the drawing, we see what appears to be a shadow, but with attributes of being solid, appearing both in front of and behind the girl.  He wears a "paddy cap", indicating he's a criminal. It reminds me of the 1980's "The New Twilight Zone" episode, "The Shadow Man", one of the better episodes of that iteration written by one of the better writers for the show, Rockne S. O'Bannon.

It also reminds me of the more recent "Hat Man" phenomena.

I think I'll use it as decoration on my mantle for this Halloween.