Beth Horner

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A longtime friend of the Big Muddy Folk Festival, Beth Horner’s goal as a storyteller is to entertain and engage her listeners’ imaginations. "When you watch a story on television or in a movie theater, you see one person's (the film maker's) depiction of an image,” she says. “When I'm telling stories to 50 different people, there are 50 different movies going on in the minds of listeners. Nothing is as powerful or vivid as your own imagination."

Although she has partially migrated to Chicago, Beth's roots on a Boone County farm informs her 18 years telling a wide variety of folk, literary, traditional, contemporary and original tales from around the world. Beth's repertoire includes folktales, literary tales, myths, ghost stories, adventure tales, humorous tales, songs and participation stories from different regions of the United States as well as from China, Japan, England, Indonesia, Haiti, Ireland, Austria, Scotland and other countries around the world.

As a result of spending her childhood summers in the Missouri Ozarks, she has developed an interest in traditional stories from that region. Horner's lively, traditional style often incorporates music to create a dynamic performance.