diff --git a/hy/errors.py b/hy/errors.py
index 0e786e8..d0240c5 100644
--- a/hy/errors.py
+++ b/hy/errors.py
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ class HyTypeError(TypeError):
                                  (self.__class__.__name__,
                                   self.message))
 
-        return result
+        return result.encode('utf-8')
 
 
 class HyMacroExpansionError(HyTypeError):