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Excel 95 contains a hidden, first-person, Doom-inspired credits experience called the Hall of Tortured Souls. It is a short walkable Easter egg—not a full version of Doom—and it is not a feature of modern Excel. To see the original, you need to run Excel 95; a recent how-to describes doing that in a Windows 95 virtual machine with Office 95 installed, though it does not establish where to obtain legitimate installation media or what current license terms apply.
What is Excel 95’s Hall of Tortured Souls?
The Hall of Tortured Souls is a hidden 3D environment in Excel 95 that displays developer credits. Its first-person presentation evokes Doom, which explains the shorthand “Excel Doom clone,” but it is better described as a Doom-inspired credits Easter egg. It is not a full Doom game. A 1995 Usenet discussion preserved in the Google Groups archive indicates that the Easter egg was discussed at the time, rather than invented as a recent internet rumor.
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The sources identify the Easter egg with Excel 95. They do not establish that the same feature exists in current Excel, so the steps below apply to the original version.
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- Open Excel 95 and create or open a blank worksheet.
- Select the row 95 header so the entire row is selected.
- Press Tab. This moves the active selection to column B.
- Open the Help menu and choose About Microsoft Excel.
- Hold Ctrl, Alt, and Shift, then click the Tech Support button.
- When the Hall of Tortured Souls window appears, use the cursor keys to navigate.
These are historical instructions for Excel 95; they are not menu steps for current Microsoft 365 or later Excel releases. If the window does not appear, first check that you are using Excel 95 and followed the selection and key sequence exactly.
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How to find the secret passage
While facing the starting wall in the Hall, enter excelkfa. Historical guides report that this reveals a hidden passage leading to another section of the environment, where developer images are displayed.
Can you play it today?
A recent how-to describes recreating a Windows 95 virtual machine, installing Office 95 in it, and then using the original Excel sequence. This is a legacy-software setup, not a way to activate the Easter egg in a modern Excel installation. The procedure is reported by that article rather than established here as a tested setup.
Rank #2
- Developed by id Software, DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells the epic cinematic origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage.
- In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
- A dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine. With a customizable difficulty system, it’s the perfect entry point whether you’re new to the franchise or a long time fan.
- As the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw.
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Current legitimate sources for Windows 95 or Office 95 installation media, and the present-day licensing terms for using them, are not established. Do not assume that old software is free to download or redistribute. If you already have lawful media and the necessary rights, a Windows 95 virtual machine is the reported route to reproducing the original experience.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsVideos and recreations are not the original Easter egg
A video can show what the Hall looks like without running Excel 95. A community GitHub repository also describes decompiled source code for the Easter egg and notes that its main loop sleeps for 20 milliseconds to keep the experience from running too fast on modern CPUs. That is the repository author’s technical note, not official Microsoft documentation. Neither watching a video nor viewing a source-code recreation is the same as opening the Easter egg in the original Excel 95 software.
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- A Relentless Campaign: There is no taking cover or stopping to regenerate health as you beat back Hell's raging demon hordes
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Rank #3
- Developed by id Software, DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells the epic cinematic origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage.
- In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
- A dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine. With a customizable difficulty system, it’s the perfect entry point whether you’re new to the franchise or a long time fan.
- As the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw.
- Experience the origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage in this epic, cinematic, and action-packed story.
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