diff --git a/lib/crack/xml.rb b/lib/crack/xml.rb
index 6985689..985ba80 100644
--- a/lib/crack/xml.rb
+++ b/lib/crack/xml.rb
@@ -232,6 +232,8 @@ def self.parser=(parser)
     end
 
     def self.parse(xml)
+      return {} if xml.strip == ''
+
       parser.parse(xml)
     end
   end