diff --git a/files.c b/files.c
index 6e65d811a52eaee15b093630e4e25f7ca409d974..cf4769760ff7b2eb2644f47b4d2177cbe1f53424 100644
--- a/files.c
+++ b/files.c
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ filestruct *read_line(char *buf, filestruct *prev, int *line1ins, int len)
 int read_file(FILE *f, const char *filename, int quiet)
 {
     int num_lines = 0, len = 0;
-    char input;		/* current input character */
+    char input = 0; 		/* current input character */
     char *buf;
     long i = 0, bufx = 128;
     filestruct *fileptr = current, *tmp = NULL;