diff --git a/lib/nconf/stores/file.js b/lib/nconf/stores/file.js
index 33fa1c1..968d4e8 100644
--- a/lib/nconf/stores/file.js
+++ b/lib/nconf/stores/file.js
@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@ File.prototype.loadSync = function (callback) {
   }
   
   if (err) {
+    err.message = "Error parsing your JSON configuration file."
     throw err;
   }