diff --git a/library/HTMLPurifier/VarParser.php b/library/HTMLPurifier/VarParser.php
index 0c97c8289..9174a82e4 100644
--- a/library/HTMLPurifier/VarParser.php
+++ b/library/HTMLPurifier/VarParser.php
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ final public function parse($var, $type, $allow_null = false)
                 $this->errorInconsistent(get_class($this), $type);
         }
         $this->errorGeneric($var, $type);
+        return null;
     }
 
     /**