Mike Flanagan

Mike Flanagan (born May 20, 1978, in Salem, Massachusetts) is an American director and filmmaker widely associated with modern horror, known for character-driven scares and careful craftsmanship. Across film and television, he has built a reputation for blending emotional storytelling with supernatural tension.

Flanagan has frequently taken on multiple roles behind the camera—writing, directing, producing, and editing features such as Absentia (2011), Oculus (2013), Hush, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), Gerald's Game (2017), and Doctor Sleep (2019). His work often explores grief, memory, and family bonds as much as it does fear.

On Netflix, he became a defining voice for prestige horror as creator and showrunner of series including The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), The Midnight Club (2022), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023), also directing and editing episodes across these projects.

Flanagan frequently collaborates with actress Kate Siegel, his wife, who has appeared in many of his productions; the pair also co-wrote Hush. He is also known for recurring ensembles featuring performers such as Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, and Bruce Greenwood.