If there’s one thing that drives me unnecessarily crazy, it’s how people write “The Witch” when referring to the title of Robert Eggers‘ 2016 masterpiece.

If you recall, the custom typeface for A24’s campaign turned the title’s “W” into a double “V” so it read as follows on the film’s poster: “The VVitch“.

While I find the title card to be incredibly cool, it doesn’t change the fact that the film’s title is ultimately The Witch, meant to be pronounced and written as such. Like an asshole, I’ve been debating with people on Twitter about it for years. I don’t know why, but it drives me impossibly mad.

In any event, after my latest dig, I was directed to a recent episode of Shock Waves in which Eggers is asked about the various spellings and pronunciations of The Witch. Since he’s the director, this is the final word on the subject.

“Well, I mean, it’s always pronounced ‘The Witch‘ no matter how you spell it,” said Eggers. “I always write it with a ‘W’.”

“The two ‘V’s was from a witch pamphlet from the 1640s 1940s ,” he reveals, explaining why this occurred. “My understanding is that if you were a printing house you might not spend all the money on the different typefaces…So there is this pamphlet that says ‘vvitch’ and I thought, ‘That looks good and it’s from the period, let’s do it.'”

But even if you’re one of the fans who has been using the double “V”, Eggers wants you to know that he appreciates your fandom and has all the respect in the world for you.

“That said, the most ardent fans of The Witch who are really dedicated… they spell it with two ‘V’s. So I respect it.”

There you have it, straight from the goat’s mouth – so to speak.