Mike Flanagan is born in Salem, Mass. in 1978. The writer/director/producer/editor of mostly horror films and TV series is known for Stephen King adaptations like Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep, as well as Shirley Jackson adaptations like The Haunting of Hill House, Edgar Allan Poe adaptations like The Fall of the House of Usher and original series like Midnight Mass. His TV work is said to be vaguely connected in what fans and critics call the “Flanaverse.”

This Day in Halloween: Horror movie and TV writer/director/producer/editor Mike Flanagan is born in Salem, Mass. in 1978. / Illustration by Henry Ploch