Richard Chase (folklorist)


Richard Thomas Chase, an American folklorist, was an authority on English-American folklore. He was born near Huntsville, Alabama, and graduated from Antioch College in 1929.
Chase compiled and edited several books of folktales and folk games, including:
Chase lived in California from 1964-1975 and was a regular at the Southern Renaissance Pleasure Faire created by Ron and Phyllis Patterson, in Ventura, CA, where he is remembered for holding court under a large oak tree. He introduced English Country Dancing to the faire, bringing a group of his students from Claremont College. Chase had one daughter, Ann Gay Chase Applegate.