Kentucky Blue People...The Fugate's.

 

 

Today we talk about The Fugate's. Not cryptids or paranormal but still a very interesting case...

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The Fugate's are a family from  the hills of Kentucky  known as the "Blue Fugates" or the Blue People of Kentucky, They are the  carriers of a rare  genetic trait  that led to the disease, methemoglobinemia this disease causes a  blue-tinged to the skin.

Methemoglobin is a nonfunctional blue version of the healthy red hemoglobin protein that carries oxygen. In most Caucasians, the red hemoglobin of the blood in their bodies shows through their skin giving it a pink tint.

For the Fugate family, the excessive amount of blue methemoglobin in their blood turned their skin color blue.

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===Blue People of Kentucky ===

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In  1820 Martin Fugate a french orphan became the first Fugate in the US.

He later settled in Troublesome Creek, in the hills of East Kentukey.

He eventually met Elizabeth Smith and was soon engaged..

Martin Fugate and Elizabeth Smith married and settled near Hazard, Kentuky  However they were both carriers of the recessive methemoglobinemia (met-H) gene, as was a nearby clan with whom the Fugates descendants intermarried. As a result, many descendants of the Fugates were born with
met-H.

Descendants with the gene continued to live in the areas around Troublesome Creek  and Ball Creek into the 20th century, eventually coming to the attention of the nurse Ruth Pendergrass and the hematologist Madison Cawein III, who made a detailed study of their condition and ancestry.
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===1960's  Oward...

 By the  1960s, some members of the Fugate family had begun to resent their blue  skin.

Not only did their skin mark them as different, but by that time, people had already begun to associate their skin color with the family’s history of inbreeding.

It was then that two Fugates approached Madison Cawein, a hematologist at the University of Kentucky’s medical clinic at the time, in search of a cure.

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“They were really embarrassed about being blue,” Cawein remembers. “Patrick was all hunched down in the hall. Rachel was leaning against the wall. They wouldn’t come into the waiting room. You could tell how much it bothered them to be blue.”

Using research collected from studies of isolated Alaskan Eskimo populations, Cawein was able to conclude that the Fugates carried a rare hereditary blood disorder that causes excessive levels of methemoglobin in their blood.


Cawein treated the family with methylene blue which seemed to decrees some of their symptoms and reduced the blue coloring of their skin.

 He eventually published his research in the Archives of Internal Medicine  in 1964.

As travel became easier in the 20th century, and families spread out over wider areas, the prevalence of the recessive gene in the local population reduced, and with it the probability of inheriting the disease.

 -----------Fugate Family Tree---------



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Benjamin Stacy, born in 1975, is the last known descendant of the Fugates to have been born with blue skin, and lost his blue skin tone as he grew older.

Having this recessive gen on both sides of the family combined with isolation and the fact that   many of the Fugates began to marry and have children within their own bloodline led to the bluse ting.

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“It was hard to get out, so they intermarried,” says Dennis Stacy, an amateur genealogist, and descendant of the Fugates. “I’m kin to myself.”

Benjy is descended from a line of this family that began when Martin’s son, Zachariah, married his mother’s sister.

  Today Benjy and most of the Fugate family descendants have lost their blue coloring and look like anyone eles you would see out n about...

                                                          Benjy at age 37
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It has been speculated that some other American sufferers of inherited methemoglobinemia may also have had Fugate ancestors, but searches for direct links have so far proved inconclusive.

North American Monster Sightings, Werewolf's.

Do Werewolf's stalk the wood's of rural Kentucky....


For about seventy years a tall biped wolf like creature has been making regular appearances in rural Kentucky.

This creature is known as the Bearilla. The name Bearilla comes from a description given by the first witness to go public with his sighting, in 1972. While being interviewed by the media, he stated the creature looked like a cross between a bear and a gorilla. It was dubbed the Bearilla by the press.
It is most often seen in the Gateway region of the state.

The Gateway is the area located between the flat lands of the Bluegrass region and the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. For this reason it is also referred to as the Gateway Werewolf.

Most witnesses describe it as being basically the same type creature that has been spotted in the Northern states, except the Bearilla is always described as having a white or a silvery grey coat. It is close to the height of an average man, with its arms and legs being similar in proportion to that of a human. The hands, or fore-paws, are said to have long curving, sharp claws. The feet, judging by footprints, are said to be elongated and somewhat human like, but with shorter toes and a configuration more like that of a canine. The most striking feature, according to witness accounts, is the elongated muzzle with large, protruding canine teeth and pointed incisors. This wolf-like creature also has a tendency to be much more aggressive than its Northern cousins.

There have been several instances of aggressive behavior, toward humans. from this creature. Two involved actual attacks; both required treatment at local hospitals.

The first attack and first report of this creature, in Kentucky, occurred in Johnson County in 1944. Here a teenage boy almost had a fight to the death, with the beast, over a string of fish. The boy reported he had been fishing along a small stream and had a considerable number of fish on his stringer. He stated that as he was preparing to leave when a wolf like creature ran up from the creek bank and attempted to take his fish. It was described as being silvery-grey and standing about six feet tall. The boy attempted to keep the fish, but he was overpowered and the creature made of with his catch. The boy stated that as the creature walked off, it turned and smiled at him. The boy was treated at a local hospital for deep lacerations and shock.

The story was never made public, but information of the incident was leaked out by one of the attending medical personnel on duty at the time
The second attack occurred in 1972, along Hinkston Creek in Bourbon County. Here an early morning squirrel hunter was attacked and suffered several deep lacerations across the back and legs. The unfortunate hunter stated he was attacked from the rear and was pushed down on the ground. The hunter did not get a good look at the creature.

 He only saw its hands and a few brief flashes of the rest of the body. He described it as white or silver with hands that were basically like a humans, only with much longer fingernails and they were covered in white hair. The creature then proceeded to basically “bounced” him up and down. The hunter credits his escape from a possible real death, to playing dead. The horrified victim could not think of any possible way he could have provoked the attack. He stated “ It just came out of no where and jumped me”

This werewolf like creature also seems to have an uncanny ability to escape pursuers. After the attack on the hunter, a local group of men formed an old fashioned posse and went in search of the attacker. Around dusk, the group, with assistance from hunting dogs, seemed to have corned the creature in an old barn When the men and dogs attempted to enter the barn, the dogs cowered down and whimpered in fear. The posse then decided to surround the barn and wait for daylight. The next morning the dogs rushed in without showing any fear. To everyone’s surprise the barn was empty.

Whatever frightened the dogs the night before, was now gone. None of the hunters reported seeing anything leave the barn. The only signs anything had been in the barn, were what appeared to be claw marks on the wall of the barn. It appears the creature had climbed to the top of barn and simply vanished,
The last known sightings, in the Gateway Area, occurred in 1999, near Morehead, Ky. A couple observed two of these creatures standing in a clearing near Highway 60. When they attempted to photograph the unusual duo, both creatures bared their fangs and emitted low growls. Needless to say the couple fled the area immediately.

These creatures also seem to inhabit the areas around Ashland, Kentucky. Like their northern counter parts, these entities seem to enjoy hanging out in graveyards. In the 1980’s, the Ashland Cemetery was a hot bed for sightings of a this werewolf like creature.
It was most often seen running between headstones and jumping the wall surrounding the cemetery. The witnesses all commented that the creature had incredible leaping power. It is said to have thad a habit of chasing humans and at one point actually cornered two lawmen, sent to investigate a sighting. The officers stated that the creature came within thirty feet of them and paced back and forth between headstones growling. The creature eventually got bored with harassing the officers and wandered back into the cemetery.

This creatures jumping ability was demonstrated again on a Greenup County back road in 2001. A couple, driving separate cars, encountered this creature running down the road toward them. Instead of going around both cars, it simply leaped over both and continued its journey down the middle of the road.

The last Bearilla sighting occurred in Eastern Kentucky in 2005. A homeowner turned on his porch light, to investigate a strange noise. He was startled to see what he first thought was a child, but after he got a better look, he decide this was no child …. at least not a human one! He described it as being about three feet tall, covered with hair and having a ’dog face”. Whatever it was made a hasty retreat when it realized it had been discovered.


The sighting in 2005 was the last reported werewolf encounter in Kentucky. Did they die, move away or are they still lurking in the woods? Only time will tell!