Born in Salem, Masaachusetts, Mike Flanagan is an American screenwriter, director, editor. He attended Towson University and graduated with a BA in Electronic Media and a minor in Theatre. He directed the short films Makebelieve (2000), Still Life (2001) and Ghosts of Hamilton Street (2003) after his graduation. His next short film Oculus: Chapter 3 (2006) is what gained him popularity. He then made commercial movies like Absentia (2011) and Oculus (2013). In 2016, he directed Before I Wake and Ouija: Origin of Evil. His other releases include Dobaara: See Your Evil (2017), Gerald`s Game (2017) and Doctor Sleep (2019).