The audience hangs on her every word. Adults lean in; children stare, fixated, with their mouths wide open. Softly, quietly, master storyteller Antoinette Botsford lulls her audience into the story of a ghost named Annie who killed the island’s only known boo hag with a hatchet.
“After I’d been calling her for some time, a soft-spoken Southern woman dressed in a sack dress showed herself to me and told me how she came to be called Hatchet Annie. It was quite a story, and quite an experience,” she shared with those who came to hear Botsford’s “Spooky Tales,” an hourlong retelling of some of the island’s most enduring stories of loss, treachery and untimely deaths. Sponsored by the Orcas Island Historical Museum and Crow Valley Schoolhouse Museum, Botsford’s tales of the island’s past showcases what she does best: tell stories.
As old as early human communication, telling stories is what we do. It’s oral history, a generational passing on of myths, legends and historical fact that has always connected us to our past.
That connection is part of Botsford’s passion for spinning a good yarn.
“It keeps traditions alive,” she shares. “It celebrates the sacredness of our collective pasts, it honors those whose history is often denied and encourages an awareness or a reawakening of a passion for history.”
Her Friday night presentations at the old green schoolhouse on Crow Valley Road regularly draw a couple from Palm Springs, California. Summering on the island, they make it a point to attend as many performances as they can, admitting they never tire of hearing the same stories. “Each presentation is different, and we always leave at the end feeling thoroughly entertained. She’s so good.”
Highly respected among her peers, and within cultures that celebrate and revere the oral tradition, Botsford’s love of storytelling extends beyond the island’s legends and ghosts. She has officiated at weddings, participated in funeral ceremonies, eulogized friends and tribal elders, and taught playwriting. A member of several professional organizations including the Seattle Storytellers Guild, Botsford has entertained young and old and nurtured future generations in the art of storytelling.
If you’ve thought about getting a ticket to “Spooky Tales,” don’t hesitate. The event on Wednesday Aug. 28, 8 p.m., at the history museum and the 5 p.m. performance on Friday, Aug. 30 at Crow Valley will be the last of the season. The ghosts, however, will likely linger.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for those 18 and under and $2 off for museum members at either performance venue, or online at orcasmuseums.org.
