Can structures spawn on another structure?

So I was journeying through a planet when I came across a Novakid Village, which is normal, the part that wasn't normal was the Shadow person sitting in the chair. To be clear there was not an shadow structure any where near this village. So I am asking the question, can a structure spawn on another structure spawning the NPCs but not the building itself?

 

. . . did you just assume their race?? Maybe they racially identify as a ball of superheated gas. And even if they don't, clearly the whole village has welcomed and accepted them as one of their own. What's so "not normal" about that?

Jokes aside, it looks like that novakid village spawned in a shadow mini-biome. It could be that the biome spawned first, generated a shadow "shrine" along with a shadow occupant, and then had a novakid village spawn on top of it, removing the structure but not the occupant. Probably not supposed to happen, but it does create some interesting potential for unwritten lore.

 

Short answer, yes, it is possible.