Real-Life ‘Papa Smurf’: Man Turned Blue after Being Born Fair-Skinned with Reddish-Blond Hair

Paul Karason, nicknamed "Papa Smurf," shocked the world with his blue skin. But what was stranger was his refusal to stop engaging in what was turning his skin into this peculiar color.

Paul Karason used to have a pale complexion and strawberry-blonde hair for the first four decades of his life. With time, his hair became lighter until it turned white. But what was bizarre was that his previously fair skin also began to change shades.

Karason said he had no idea he had turned blue until a friend visited him and pointed out his skin's strange and new bluish-grey color. He recalled that his friend thought he had something on his face, thinking it may have been camouflage makeup. The companion asked Karason what he had done to himself.

Why and How Did Paul Karason Turn Blue?

Karason's skin changed because he was using an independently researched "remedy" or alternative treatment for his flaky skin. He decided to employ this treatment after medical practitioners informed him that there was nothing that could be done about his skin. When he began using the "remedy," Karason first started drinking it, but eventually, he began to apply it onto his skin.

He came across the idea of using this apparent countermeasure, namely silver or colloidal silver water, in an alternative magazine, with the advertisement claiming that it could assist one's health.

In the beginning, it was only Karason's face that started turning blue, but the discoloration soon spread to the rest of his body. His reaction when he started noticing it was, as he remembered:

"I kind of hoped it would fade off!"

However, this did not deter him, and he continued using the colloidal silver. Eventually, he became known as "Papa Smurf."

Karason believed in the claim that the colloidal silver and distilled water concoction he made at home could cure his health issues. Speaking about the few months following his initial use of this mix, he said:

"The acid reflux problem I'd been having just went away completely...I had arthritis in my shoulders so bad I couldn't pull a T-shirt off. And the next thing I knew, it was just gone."

Little did Karason know then, that with the amount of silver he was consuming in his body, he was actually experiencing silver poisoning, scientifically referred to as Argyria, and it was permanent.

More than that, recognized medical practitioners stated that these apparent health benefits of the mixture have no scientifically backed basis. Dr. Vincent DeLeo, who worked at St. Luke's-Roosevelt and Beth Israel Hospitals as the dermatology head, stated:

"Paul turned blue because he ingested and applied elemental silver. It got into his bloodstream and then was deposited in his skin as brown particles. And when you see those particles through the skin, they appear to be gray or blue/gray."

Dr. DeLeo advised individuals to refrain from using colloidal silver. He also pointed out that the FDA had claimed zero medical advantages from the alleged remedy. Medical professionals also believed that his organs could have been blue as well.

How Did Paul Karason Find Love Twice, and What Was His Life Like?

Karason first found love with Jackie Northrup, who later became his fiancêe, until their engagement was called off. Northrup's initial exchanges with her then-future fiancé were via telephone. During this time, she was aware that her lover was, in fact, blue.

Northrup, who also decided to drink colloidal silver water, though she never applied it to her skin, spoke about the first time she met Karason in the flesh. She remembered that, although she loved Karason, she was still startled, saying:

"I had to really look at it and keep looking at it and remember who I had talked to and who I had fallen in love with."

Karason was not fond of the looks he would receive because of his blue complexion. Speaking about his now widely-known nickname, "Papa Smurf," he said that there were specific individuals he disliked using it, explicitly referring to adults. However, there were exceptions to this, such as when children chose to use it, which would elicit a smile from him.

These negative reactions aside, Karason still had doubts about whether he would choose not to use the colloidal silver for his skin if he could go back in time.

"Papa Smurf's" luck began to turn around when he met, or rather reunited with, Jo Anna Elkins...

Beyond the health issues that Karason claimed colloidal silver could cure, he also spoke about its other claimed benefits, such as protecting the skin from sunburn. Overall, he had no regrets about using the said remedy.

Later in his life, things began looking down. He ended things with Northrup and became jobless as well as homeless. He ended up in the Lighthouse Mission Shelter in 2012 in his hometown of Bellington, Washington. He moved there after living in Madeira, California.

He was also fighting against serious health issues, such as problems with his heart and prostate cancer. Opening up about his struggle to find work and its connection to his skin color, he said:

"People are rather reluctant to hire blue people."

Karason's luck began to turn around when he met, or rather, reunited with Jo Anna Elkins. Elkins was a friend from his younger days at Junior High. She lent him a helping hand and aided him in getting out of the shelter. The two would eventually move in together and exchange vows, although she later became estranged from Karason too.

At 62 years old, in September 2013, Karason passed away. His death followed a heart attack and a stroke while being treated at Washington Hospital.

Click here to read another story about a woman who experienced a tremendous response when she changed her appearance.