The Hall of Tortured Souls: The Hidden Easter Egg in Excel 95

Excel 95, technically version 7 of the spreadsheet, hit the market in August 1995 alongside the rest of the Office suite, compatible with the brand-new Windows 95. This build was essentially a 32-bit reconstruction, and today we can say it did its job... but not a few believe the development process wasn't exactly peaceful. The evidence is "The Hall of Tortured Souls", a deeply hidden Easter egg with a disturbing edge.

With almost 45 years of existence, it was inevitable for Microsoft to be embroiled in controversies, scandals, and other rumors. Some reached extremes like satanic practices, but the most common (and probable) talk of constant tensions with development teams. 1995 was a key year for Microsoft, with the release of its new operating system, and all the tools that had to work perfectly on it. One of them was Excel 95...

Speaking of hidden tricks, here's a curious one:

At first glance, not much can be said about the program. A 32-bit internal restructuring ensured its compatibility with Windows 95, and it became the first major version of Excel since Excel 5 in 1993 (there was no edition 6). At the same time, its creators liked to hide small secrets inside the spreadsheet. In edition 4 they mocked Lotus 1-2-3 by destroying its logo, but moving to Excel 95, we find this:

Entering the Hall of Tortured Souls

1. Open a new spreadsheet in Excel 95.
2. Go to row 95.
3. Select the entire row.
4. Press Tab to go to column B.
5. Go to "Help / About...".
6. Hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift, and click on the Technical Support button.

That will open a new window known as "Hall of Tortured Souls". If you climb the stairs, you'll see walls with the names of the developers (one of them is mirrored), and a screen with the same content. However, that's not all: If you type "excelkfa", you'll get access to a different section of the Hall, separated by a very narrow path. If you fall into the pit, you have no choice but to close the window and restart the Easter egg, but if you reach the end, the "reward" is a sector with its walls covered with photos of the developers. Collision detection isn't very good inside the hall, allowing you to explore the outside of the structure.

Disturbing? Yes. Uncomfortable? Certainly. But personally I think all those rumors of conflict and satanic practices are absurd. In fact, I think Excel developers were fans of Doom and Doom 2, and inspired by those games to create their Easter egg. Even the trick "excelkfa" is similar to the classic "IDKFA" that gives weapons, ammo, keys, and armor. We also shouldn't forget that Microsoft made extensive use of Doom in promoting Windows 95. The port (Doom 95) was handled by Gabe Newell himself... and there's also this:

The shotgun, the trench coat, "Don't Interrupt Me"... it could only happen in the 90s.

Source: Eeggs.com