Empty include file crashes HA on startup, new in 2024.1.4

[brettonw]

The problem

Empty include file crashes HA on startup:

homeassistant:
  packages: !include_dir_named packages

An "empty" file in the packages directory, including one whose contents are completely commented out, causes HA to crash hard on startup:

hass    | s6-rc: info: service s6rc-oneshot-runner: starting
hass    | s6-rc: info: service s6rc-oneshot-runner successfully started
hass    | s6-rc: info: service fix-attrs: starting
hass    | s6-rc: info: service fix-attrs successfully started
hass    | s6-rc: info: service legacy-cont-init: starting
hass    | s6-rc: info: service legacy-cont-init successfully started
hass    | s6-rc: info: service legacy-services: starting
hass    | services-up: info: copying legacy longrun home-assistant (no readiness notification)
hass    | s6-rc: info: service legacy-services successfully started
hass    | 2024-01-20 01:12:18.489 ERROR (MainThread) [root] Uncaught exception
hass    | Traceback (most recent call last):
hass    |   File "<frozen runpy>", line 198, in _run_module_as_main
hass    |   File "<frozen runpy>", line 88, in _run_code
hass    |   File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/__main__.py", line 221, in <module>
hass    |     sys.exit(main())
hass    |              ^^^^^^
hass    |   File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/__main__.py", line 209, in main
hass    |     exit_code = runner.run(runtime_conf)
hass    |                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
hass    |   File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/runner.py", line 188, in run
hass    |     return loop.run_until_complete(setup_and_run_hass(runtime_config))
hass    |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
hass    |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/asyncio/base_events.py", line 653, in run_until_complete
hass    |     return future.result()
hass    |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
hass    |   File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/runner.py", line 154, in setup_and_run_hass
hass    |     hass = await bootstrap.async_setup_hass(runtime_config)
hass    |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
hass    |   File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/bootstrap.py", line 147, in async_setup_hass
hass    |     config_dict = await conf_util.async_hass_config_yaml(hass)
hass    |                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
hass    |   File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/config.py", line 501, in async_hass_config_yaml
hass    |     await merge_packages_config(hass, config, core_config.get(CONF_PACKAGES, {}))
hass    |   File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/config.py", line 1029, in merge_packages_config
hass    |     PACKAGES_CONFIG_SCHEMA(packages)
hass    |   File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/helpers/config_validation.py", line 588, in verify
hass    |     return cast(dict, schema(value))
hass    |                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
hass    |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/voluptuous/schema_builder.py", line 272, in __call__
hass    |     return self._compiled([], data)
hass    |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
hass    |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/voluptuous/schema_builder.py", line 595, in validate_dict
hass    |     return base_validate(path, iteritems(data), out)
hass    |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
hass    |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/voluptuous/schema_builder.py", line 433, in validate_mapping
hass    |     raise er.MultipleInvalid(errors)
hass    | voluptuous.error.MultipleInvalid: expected a dictionary for dictionary value @ data['<THE EMPTY FILE NAME>']
hass    | [06:12:18] INFO: Home Assistant Core finish process exit code 1
hass    | [06:12:18] INFO: Home Assistant Core service shutdown
hass    | s6-rc: info: service legacy-services: stopping
hass    | s6-rc: info: service legacy-services successfully stopped
hass    | s6-rc: info: service legacy-cont-init: stopping
hass    | s6-rc: info: service legacy-cont-init successfully stopped
hass    | s6-rc: info: service fix-attrs: stopping
hass    | s6-rc: info: service fix-attrs successfully stopped
hass    | s6-rc: info: service s6rc-oneshot-runner: stopping
hass    | s6-rc: info: service s6rc-oneshot-runner successfully stopped

What version of Home Assistant Core has the issue?

core-2024.1.4

What was the last working version of Home Assistant Core?

core-2024.1.3

What type of installation are you running?

Home Assistant Container

Integration causing the issue

Core

Link to integration documentation on our website

n/a

Diagnostics information

No response

Example YAML snippet

No response

Anything in the logs that might be useful for us?

No response

Additional information

Possibly related to this change:
#107853

[RoboMagus]

#108426

Please DO check for existing issues before creating a new one.