diff --git a/src/eval.c b/src/eval.c
index 5573e76..a3edec6 100644
--- a/src/eval.c
+++ b/src/eval.c
@@ -856,6 +856,7 @@
 	}
     }
     hash_clear(&vimvarht);
+    hash_init(&vimvarht);  /* garbage_collect() will access it */
     hash_clear(&compat_hashtab);
 
     /* script-local variables */