Mike Flanagan
Early life and education[edit]
Mike Flanagan was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on May 20, 1978.[1][2] His family moved around often due to his father's job in the U.S. Coast Guard, at one point living on Governors Island.[3] Although he only briefly lived in Salem, it left an impression on him, and he retained an interest in both the Salem witch trials and associated topics such as ghost stories and horror fiction.[2]
He later lived in Maryland, where he was a student at Archbishop Spalding High School before attending Towson University.[2] He graduated with a BA, majoring in Electronic Media & Film and minoring in Theater.[4]
Recognition[edit]
Flanagan's work has attracted praise from figures such as William Friedkin, Stephen King, and Quentin Tarantino for his directing style and lack of reliance on jump scares.[34][35][36][37][38] Ironically, the first episode of his series The Midnight Club (2022) set a new Guinness World Record for the most jump scares in a single episode of television with 21.[39] However, Flanagan stated that this jump-scare sequence was in direct response to studio notes requesting more jump scares, and he designed this 21-scare scene so that the "jump scare(s) would be rendered meaningless."[40]
Personal life[edit]
Flanagan was formerly in a relationship with actress Courtney Bell, who starred in his film Absentia, and with whom he has a son.[41] In February 2016, he married actress and frequent collaborator Kate Siegel, with whom he has a son and a daughter.[42][41][43]
Flanagan spent years studying various religions, later describing Midnight Mass as a passion project that was "deeply personal" and dealt intimately with his Catholic upbringing and his eventual atheism, as well as his sobriety.[44]