diff --git a/lisp/org-capture.el b/lisp/org-capture.el
index afb56ba..421e098 100644
--- a/lisp/org-capture.el
+++ b/lisp/org-capture.el
@@ -982,6 +982,8 @@ Point will remain at the first line after the inserted text."
   (org-capture-put :key (car entry) :description (nth 1 entry)
 		   :target (nth 3 entry))
   (let ((txt (nth 4 entry)) (type (or (nth 2 entry) 'entry)))
+    (when (file-exists-p txt)
+	(setq txt (org-file-contents txt)))
     (when (or (not txt) (and (stringp txt) (not (string-match "\\S-" txt))))
       ;; The template may be empty or omitted for special types.
       ;; Here we insert the default templates for such cases.