She Wakes was published by Berkley Books in 1984 (revised and expanded for a 2003 edition by Leisure Books). The novel is set on the Greek island of Mykonos, where Dodgson, an American writer, encounters Lelia — a stunningly beautiful woman who is gradually being possessed by (or transforming into) an incarnation of the ancient goddess Artemis. The transformation is physical as well as psychological: Lelia’s beauty becomes predatory, her sexuality becomes violent, and her presence draws both worshippers and victims.
The novel is Ketchum’s most overtly supernatural work — his other novels are grounded in realistic horror — and his engagement with Greek mythology is more ambitious than the paperback horror packaging suggests. The goddess Artemis was not merely a huntress but a complex figure: virgin and destroyer, protector of the young and slayer of those who transgressed against her. Ketchum’s Lelia embodies these contradictions, and the men who are drawn to her discover that the beauty they desire is inseparable from the violence it contains.
The 2003 revision restored material cut from the original Berkley edition and expanded several sequences, making it the definitive text.
Collecting She Wakes
First edition (Berkley Books, New York, 1984): Mass market paperback.
Market values:
- First Berkley edition, fine: $15–$40
- Leisure Books revised edition (2003): $10–$25