When most of his little village sleeps, Don Campbell is wide awake—writing the stories that will later keep his readers up at night.
Campbell, a horror author known for his vivid imagination and nerve-shredding plots, has quickly become one of the UK’s most talked-about literary voices. By day, he works as a school caretaker. By night, he turns his quiet home in Byfleet into a laboratory of fear.
His latest releases, including Midnight Harvest, Whispers in the Woods, Fright Manifest and most recently Naughty List, have earned him five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, as well as invitations to appear on several podcasts, such as How I Met Your Monster, Who’s There? and Macabre Daily.
Campbell’s stories are known for their grounded realism, emotional depth, and creeping dread. Whether following a cursed village, a terror-filled transatlantic flight, or the psychological unravelling of a seemingly stable family, his tales balance the supernatural with the disturbingly human.
“I like horror that stays with you,” Campbell said in a recent interview. “Not just jump scares—real fear. The kind that makes you think.”
Readers have praised his character-driven narratives and knack for transforming everyday settings into landscapes of suspense. His work often draws comparisons to Stephen King, a compliment Campbell accepts with a mixture of humility and surprise.
Despite his growing success, Campbell maintains a down-to-earth routine. He continues his caretaker job, often jotting down ideas between tasks or during quiet early-morning hours. “Stories come from everywhere,” he says. “Anything can spark something.”
Campbell is also known for encouraging aspiring writers to stop waiting for “the right moment” and start telling the stories they’ve been keeping inside. “I want people to know they don’t need permission to create,” he often tells his followers.
With several new projects in development—including a psychological horror novel featuring a therapistwith a challenge to overcome and a mysterious fixer named Blake Mercer—Campbell shows no signs of slowing down.
For now, the people of Byfleet can claim him as their own, though his growing readership suggests it won’t be long before his name becomes known well beyond Surrey.