diff --git a/modules/caddyhttp/templates/templates.go b/modules/caddyhttp/templates/templates.go
index 449536ac..65359d9e 100644
--- a/modules/caddyhttp/templates/templates.go
+++ b/modules/caddyhttp/templates/templates.go
@@ -88,7 +88,11 @@ func init() {
 //
 // ##### `httpInclude`
 //
-// Includes the contents of another file by making a virtual HTTP request (also known as a sub-request). The URI path must exist on the same virtual server because the request does not use sockets; instead, the request is crafted in memory and the handler is invoked directly for increased efficiency.
+// Includes the contents of another file, and renders it in-place,
+// by making a virtual HTTP request (also known as a sub-request).
+// The URI path must exist on the same virtual server because the
+// request does not use sockets; instead, the request is crafted in
+// memory and the handler is invoked directly for increased efficiency.
 //
 // ```
 // {{httpInclude "/foo/bar?q=val"}}
@@ -96,7 +100,13 @@ func init() {
 //
 // ##### `import`
 //
-// Imports the contents of another file and adds any template definitions to the template stack. If there are no defitions, the filepath will be the defition name. Any {{ define }} blocks will be accessible by {{ template }} or {{ block }}. Imports must happen before the template or block action is called
+// Reads and returns the contents of another file, and parses it
+// as a template, adding any template definitions to the template
+// stack. If there are no definitions, the filepath will be the
+// definition name. Any {{ define }} blocks will be accessible by
+// {{ template }} or {{ block }}. Imports must happen before the
+// template or block action is called. Note that the contents are
+// NOT escaped, so you should only import trusted template files.
 //
 // **filename.html**
 // ```
@@ -113,13 +123,26 @@ func init() {
 //
 // ##### `include`
 //
-// Includes the contents of another file and renders in-place. Optionally can pass key-value pairs as arguments to be accessed by the included file.
+// Includes the contents of another file, rendering it in-place.
+// Optionally can pass key-value pairs as arguments to be accessed
+// by the included file. Note that the contents are NOT escaped,
+// so you should only include trusted template files.
 //
 // ```
 // {{include "path/to/file.html"}}  // no arguments
 // {{include "path/to/file.html" "arg1" 2 "value 3"}}  // with arguments
 // ```
 //
+// ##### `readFile`
+//
+// Reads and returns the contents of another file, as-is.
+// Note that the contents are NOT escaped, so you should
+// only read trusted files.
+//
+// ```
+// {{readFile "path/to/file.html"}}
+// ```
+//
 // ##### `listFiles`
 //
 // Returns a list of the files in the given directory, which is relative to the template context's file root.
@@ -130,10 +153,10 @@ func init() {
 //
 // ##### `markdown`
 //
-// Renders the given Markdown text as HTML. This uses the
+// Renders the given Markdown text as HTML and returns it. This uses the
 // [Goldmark](https://github.com/yuin/goldmark) library,
-// which is CommonMark compliant. It also has these plugins
-// enabled: Github Flavored Markdown, Footnote and syntax
+// which is CommonMark compliant. It also has these extensions
+// enabled: Github Flavored Markdown, Footnote, and syntax
 // highlighting provided by [Chroma](https://github.com/alecthomas/chroma).
 //
 // ```
diff --git a/modules/caddyhttp/templates/tplcontext.go b/modules/caddyhttp/templates/tplcontext.go
index fb00f4fe..5dc4ae55 100644
--- a/modules/caddyhttp/templates/tplcontext.go
+++ b/modules/caddyhttp/templates/tplcontext.go
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/Masterminds/sprig/v3"
-	"github.com/alecthomas/chroma/v2/formatters/html"
+	chromahtml "github.com/alecthomas/chroma/v2/formatters/html"
 	"github.com/caddyserver/caddy/v2"
 	"github.com/caddyserver/caddy/v2/modules/caddyhttp"
 	"github.com/dustin/go-humanize"
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ func (c *TemplateContext) NewTemplate(tplName string) *template.Template {
 	// add our own library
 	c.tpl.Funcs(template.FuncMap{
 		"include":          c.funcInclude,
+		"readFile":         c.funcReadFile,
 		"import":           c.funcImport,
 		"httpInclude":      c.funcHTTPInclude,
 		"stripHTML":        c.funcStripHTML,
@@ -123,6 +124,23 @@ func (c TemplateContext) funcInclude(filename string, args ...any) (string, erro
 	return bodyBuf.String(), nil
 }
 
+// funcReadFile returns the contents of a filename relative to the site root.
+// Note that included files are NOT escaped, so you should only include
+// trusted files. If it is not trusted, be sure to use escaping functions
+// in your template.
+func (c TemplateContext) funcReadFile(filename string) (string, error) {
+	bodyBuf := bufPool.Get().(*bytes.Buffer)
+	bodyBuf.Reset()
+	defer bufPool.Put(bodyBuf)
+
+	err := c.readFileToBuffer(filename, bodyBuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	return bodyBuf.String(), nil
+}
+
 // readFileToBuffer reads a file into a buffer
 func (c TemplateContext) readFileToBuffer(filename string, bodyBuf *bytes.Buffer) error {
 	if c.Root == nil {
@@ -315,7 +333,7 @@ func (TemplateContext) funcMarkdown(input any) (string, error) {
 			extension.Footnote,
 			highlighting.NewHighlighting(
 				highlighting.WithFormatOptions(
-					html.WithClasses(true),
+					chromahtml.WithClasses(true),
 				),
 			),
 		),