diff --git a/lib/system/sysio.nim b/lib/system/sysio.nim
index 61835e0f7e..20964b166a 100644
--- a/lib/system/sysio.nim
+++ b/lib/system/sysio.nim
@@ -130,7 +130,10 @@ else:
 const
   BufSize = 4000
 
-proc close*(f: File) = discard c_fclose(f)
+proc close*(f: File) =
+  if not f.isNil:
+    discard c_fclose(f)
+
 proc readChar(f: File): char =
   let x = c_fgetc(f)
   if x < 0:
diff --git a/tests/stdlib/tissues.nim b/tests/stdlib/tissues.nim
index 6d886a5538..b5a1c8206b 100644
--- a/tests/stdlib/tissues.nim
+++ b/tests/stdlib/tissues.nim
@@ -103,3 +103,7 @@ block t5349:
 
   for line in lines("test.txt"):
     echo line
+
+block t9456:
+  var f: File
+  f.close()