Did the Shadow People Originate in Old Time Radio?

If you've spent much time listening to Coast to Coast AM with George Noory (I listen when I can), you know that the Shadow People have often been discussed.

There's not much on Wikipedia, which I turned to first for some historical context (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_people) but with a little Googling there's a wealth of speculation and personal accounts.

Interestingly, this wonderful OTR episode (link below) of Hall of Fantasy from 1953 incorporates many aspects of what I understand to be the nature of encounters with the Shadow People, though in this treatment they are decidedly sinister.

Is the 1953 story a reflection of growing American paranoia? Real events? The seed of a modern collective myth?

Film historians often site the political uncertainties of the Cold War era and post-nuclear Japan as sources for Godzilla, giant creepy crawlies and invaders from outer space. This radio play could be the fictional matrix of a modern neurosis.

If someone knows of an earlier documented reference, please comment or contact me. You can find me a couple tabs over here http://oldtimeradiodiner.blogspot.com/p/follow-me-here.html .

►Click to Listen to The Shadow People from 1953


Learn more about Hall of Fantasy at the Digital Deli:
http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/DigitalDeliToo/dd2jb-Hall-of-Fantasy.html