diff --git a/README.textile b/README.textile
index e8781447366..fbf28b62ce2 100644
--- a/README.textile
+++ b/README.textile
@@ -177,6 +177,18 @@ converted. Layouts don't need to.
 
 Haml content is intentionally not filtered, so you can use any Ruby code.
 
+If you want to define methods you can call from your Haml files, create
+a _helpers.rb file in the root of your blog and put the methods there,
+inside a module named Helpers.
+
+Jekyll provides some helpers out of the box:
+
+  h(string)
+    HTML entity-escapes the input string.
+    
+  link_to(text, url)
+    Creates a link to the URL with the linked text (or markup).
+
 h3. Local Server
 
 When previewing complex sites locally, simply opening the site in a web 
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb b/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
index af5cc02cb95..f2a12556cb2 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
@@ -59,6 +59,18 @@ def content_type
       end
       return 'unknown'
     end
+    
+    # Sets up a context for Haml and renders in it. The context has accessors
+    # matching the passed-in hash, e.g. "site", "page" and "content", and has
+    # helper modules mixed in.
+    #
+    # Returns String.
+    def render_haml_in_context(haml_engine, params={})
+      context = ClosedStruct.new(params)
+      context.extend(HamlHelpers)
+      context.extend(::Helpers) if defined?(::Helpers)
+      haml_engine.render(context)
+    end
 
     # Add any necessary layouts to this convertible document
     #   +layouts+ is a Hash of {"name" => "layout"}
@@ -72,11 +84,10 @@ def do_layout(payload, layouts)
       payload["content_type"] = self.content_type
       
       if self.content_type == "haml"
-        context = OpenStruct.new(:site => self.site, :page => OpenStruct.new(payload["page"]))
-        context.extend(HamlHelpers)
-        
         self.transform
-        self.content = self.content.render(context)
+        self.content = render_haml_in_context(self.content,
+          :site => self.site,
+          :page => ClosedStruct.new(payload["page"]))
       else
         self.content = Liquid::Template.parse(self.content).render(payload, info)
         self.transform
@@ -91,12 +102,10 @@ def do_layout(payload, layouts)
         payload = payload.deep_merge({"content" => self.output, "page" => layout.data})
         
         if site.config['haml'] && layout.content.is_a?(Haml::Engine)
-          context = OpenStruct.new(
-            :page => OpenStruct.new(payload["page"]),
-            :site => OpenStruct.new(payload["site"]),
+          self.output = render_haml_in_context(layout.content, 
+            :site => ClosedStruct.new(payload["site"]),
+            :page => ClosedStruct.new(payload["page"]),
             :content => payload["content"])
-          context.extend(HamlHelpers)
-          self.output = layout.content.render(context)
         else
           self.output = Liquid::Template.parse(layout.content).render(payload, info)
         end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/core_ext.rb b/lib/jekyll/core_ext.rb
index 18159fbf480..5ac7323ec86 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/core_ext.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/core_ext.rb
@@ -19,4 +19,11 @@ def deep_merge(hash)
 
     target
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
+
+require 'ostruct'
+class ClosedStruct < OpenStruct
+  def method_missing(symbol, *args)
+    @table.has_key?(symbol) ? super : raise(NoMethodError, "undefined method `#{symbol}' for #{self}")
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/site.rb b/lib/jekyll/site.rb
index 0238cc86271..013d03ba847 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/site.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/site.rb
@@ -50,8 +50,9 @@ def setup
       if self.config['haml']
         begin
           require 'haml'
-          require 'ostruct'
           require 'jekyll/haml_helpers'
+          helpers = File.join(source, '_helpers.rb')
+          require helpers if File.exist?(helpers)
           puts 'Enabled Haml'
         rescue LoadError
           puts 'You must have the haml gem installed first'