Facts And Stories About the Blue Fugates

People come in all colors - to an extent. Still, you wouldn't expect to see a human with naturally blue skin, but that's the case for the Blue Fugates. Who are the Blue Fugates? The title refers to members of the Fugate family of eastern Kentucky, particularly those who lived in the early- to mid-20th century. And according to firsthand accounts, the title is no exaggeration.

Why did the Fugates turn blue? The short answer has to do with a genetic mutation arising from inbreeding. The longer answer has to do with recessive genes and bizarre happenstance. If the Fugates hadn't lived in such a rural area, their condition might not have become so pronounced.

#Genetics #TheFugates #WeirdHistory

[mikeharless]

Growing up in West Virginia, I learned about this in high school science class. I remember my teacher printed out info that redacted the family name and it always made me wonder why until now.. one of the girls in my class was a Fugate! It really is a small world in Appalachia 😂

[benmcreynolds]

I have lived in Oregon all my life. I met a family here that also carried this genetic trait and they were really ghostly blue, like silver/white blue skin. I could tell they felt isolated so I tried to just interact with one of the kids that was around my grade in school, without ever bringing it up or asking about it. I bet they dealt with a lot of difficult interactions with other people. it's hard to feel odd ones out.

[thecuttinggardener]

I do cardiothoracic surgery, and we operated on a patient with the same condition. It looked like he had blue marker smeared all over him, and when we opened his chest, his tissues were blue.

[moorek]

Yes, they can inherit the condition because it is a genetic condition not related to inbreeding. The inbreeding in this case was why more had it, but they had it because both parents carried the gene, but considering recombination in chromosomes, it remains very possible.

The first recorded "Blue Fugate" was Martin Fugate from France, he carried the genetic condition without inbreeding. When I was born, my whole left leg was literally black with no reason the doctor could find, but through ancestry searches, I discovered Martin Fugate was one of my many ancestors on my mother's side.

[ed]

I met one once a few years ago at a comedy show in Alabama. It was so cool to chat with her, she was very at ease about her skins and her condition. She was a very happy and friendly woman.

[wildernesssurvivalandthriv]

My dads youth pastor met a blue fugate in the 50’s, he was driving through the area and saw a blue man looking to hitch a ride into town, he was dressed in rags and looked poor and he picked him up and dropped him off, he told the story to the kids cause he thought he was an angel and trying to tell the kids that you never know when your in the presence of power. My dad didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was just bad genetics.

[robinb.]

There was a blueish/purple-skinned kid at my school. He had severe heart problems and ended up dying young because of it.

[Dugh.By]

It was also found that the family used silver or colloidal silver which is a natural antibiotic and also has the potential to turn your skin blue. I’m surprised that does not get mentioned.

[fayefarmer]

I'm related to the Fugates and Combs. My dad was Enoch Stacy, his mom was Elizabeth Smith Stacy and his dad was Walter Stacy. His mom and dad were from around the Hazard area but moved to Clay Co before he was born. I wish I could get in touch with some of our kin to learn more about the family

[mfaizsyahmi]

The Fugates: _exists_
Eiffel 65: "Yo listen up! Here's a story..."

[judithcalderwood]

"The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" is a wonderful story about a young girl with this condition. When I read it I realized these people existed.

[jayjdietrich]

"Giving many people's tendency to be, you know, jerks". Internet truth of the day.

[roddmatsui]

“Luna” means “moon”. If Luna was blue, she was therefore a blue moon. Her husband, therefore, was only able to impregnate her *“Once in a Blue Moon”* 😆 ha ha

[IneffableFoxy]

Eastern Kentuckian here (not blue). The correct pronunciation of the surname is "few-gets" not "few-gates".

[NewMessage]

_The Blue Man Group has joined the chat - but they won't be saying anything_

[rebeccadawn]

I am a Fugate. We learned of the blue people from my grandma

[CantonGirl]

This would have made Tobias Funke’s life a lot easier.

[pamelamays]

My favorite blue character: Genie.
My least favorite blue character: Brainy Smurf. If I were a Smurf, I'd hand deliver Brainy to Gargamel.

[Orpilorp]

I had a friend in college who had the blue skin. His fingernails were purplish. His blood did not circulate well and he was always very tired.

[narta]

I learned about this condition in college in 1992. It seemed most people didn’t believe me when I told them blue people were real. I finally met someone with this condition last month. I had to introduce myself and ask him where he was from, which was not the Appalachians. However, he said that’s where his ancestors were from.