Editing Ramsey Campbell (section)

===The 2000s: ''Silent Children'' to ''Creatures of the Pool''===
In the "noughties", Campbell continued his prolific output, publishing multiple novels, along with three short story collections. He reviewed films and DVDs weekly for [[BBC Radio Merseyside]] until 2007, and began to contribute a monthly film column, "Ramsey's Ramblings", for ''[[Video Watchdog]]'' magazine. In 2002, PS Publishing issued a collection of Campbell's essays on horror and other areas of interest: ''Ramsey Campbell, Probably'' (this volume was expanded to include further material in a 2014 reprint). The collection includes book reviews, film reviews, autobiographical writings and other nonfiction, along with reminiscences and appreciations of authors such as [[John Brunner (novelist)|John Brunner]], [[Bob Shaw]] and [[K. W. Jeter]], and an extensive, negative critique of [[Shaun Hutson]]'s ''Heathen'', [[parody]]ing Hutson's style.

Following the publication of two more crime novels—''Silent Children'' (2000), the story of an eccentric child killer; and ''Pact of the Fathers'' (2001), which draws on arcane religious practices—Campbell returned to the supernatural and otherworldly. ''The Darkest Part of the Woods'' (2003) successfully evokes the cosmic terrors of H P Lovecraft and was the first of Campbell's work published by [[PS Publishing]]; the author would go on to enjoy a long-term relationship with the UK imprint, granting first print rights to most new work. Having spent a number of months working full-time in a [[Borders (retailer)|Borders]] store, Campbell wrote ''The Overnight'' (2004), about [[bookshop]] staff trapped in their hellish workplace during an overnight shift. In ''Secret Stories'' (2005; abridged US edition, ''Secret Story'', 2006) Campbell returned to the crime genre with a blackly comic study of a serial killer whose written accounts of his crimes inadvertently win a fiction competition, resulting in further murders.

''The Grin of the Dark'' (2007) draws on Campbell's interest in the history of cinema, as a character seeks material relating to a silent film comedian by the name of Tubby Thackeray. The novel also explores the impact of the internet on human consciousness. The author, often critical of his own output, continues to cite this novel as one with which he remains pleased. ''Thieving Fear'' (2008) and ''The Creatures of the Pool'' (2009) use locations in and around the author's native Liverpool to eerie effect.

''[[Told by the Dead]]'' (2003) and ''[[Just Behind You]]'' (2009) collected Campbell's short fiction, while ''[[Inconsequential Tales]]'' (2008), collecting a number of unpublished stories, documents his early evolution as a stylist.

In 2007, Campbell was awarded the Living Legend Award from the International Horror Guild.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Horror writer is a Living Legend. - Free Online Library |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Horror+writer+is+a+Living+Legend.-a0170224320 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503115025/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Horror+writer+is+a+Living+Legend.-a0170224320 |archive-date=2024-05-03 |access-date=2024-05-03 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}</ref>