diff --git a/scripts/supybot b/scripts/supybot
index 6804f62f0..e281dd736 100644
--- a/scripts/supybot
+++ b/scripts/supybot
@@ -301,7 +301,8 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
                     log.error('Could not remove pid file: %s', e)
             atexit.register(removePidFile)
         except EnvironmentError, e:
-            log.error('Error opening pid file %s: %s', pidFile, e)
+            log.fatal('Error opening/writing pid file %s: %s', pidFile, e)
+            sys.exit(-1)
 
     conf.allowDefaultOwner = options.allowDefaultOwner