Mike Flanagan was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1978 to Timothy and Laura Flanagan. The family relocated frequently, as Timothy was in the U.S. Coast Guard, and finally settled in Bowie, Maryland. As a child, he would shoot and edit short movies on VHS. This continued as he attended Archbishop Spalding High School in Severna Park, Maryland, where he was active in the school’s drama department and the president of the school’s SGA. He also anchored the school’s morning television show, and produced commercials and short videos for the students.