Failsworth baker starts horror cake business after injury

Natalie Hoole, from Failsworth, tore two of the three muscles in her left calf during a Squid Game-themed dance with a cosplayer at HorrorCon UK.

The injury left her unable to walk properly for two and a half months, but she used her recovery time to launch The Northern Tart, a cake business inspired by horror and pop culture.

Ms Hoole said: "I left HorrorCon injured one year and came back the next with people queuing to buy something I’d created.

Ms Hoole first began baking during the Covid pandemic (Image: Supplied)

"That is going to take some beating.

"I definitely wouldn’t recommend tearing two calf muscles as a business start-up strategy, but being forced to stop gave me the time to work out what I actually wanted."

She had been helping her best friend at HorrorCon when a cosplayer invited her to recreate a dance from the hit Netflix series Squid Game.

As she turned, she was pulled by the arm and slammed her foot down to stop herself from falling.

She felt an 'almighty snap' shoot through her leg.

At the time, Ms Hoole had already been considering starting a business but felt she was too busy.

While bed-bound, she began researching everything from food regulations to branding and packaging.

She said: "At some point during my recovery, I told myself that as soon as I could walk again, I was going to take myself seriously and find out what I was capable of.

"I started the business from bed."

Ms Hoole first began baking during the Covid pandemic when she made a Motörhead-themed birthday cake rather than buying one.

The experience sparked a passion that eventually led her to combine her love of horror, film, and music into edible art.

Her creations now include vintage-style heart cakes, horror-themed treats, sculpted characters, and even a Godzilla cake designed to look like it was breathing atomic fire.

Jay and Silent Bob stars Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes, holding a cake made by Ms Hoole (Image: Supplied)

One of her earliest viral products, an 'Art Crispie' inspired by the Art the Clown cereal box from Terrifier 2, went viral online before she had even launched her website.

Ms Hoole said she brings cakes to conventions for celebrities she admires, including a vegan Jay and Silent Bob cake for Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes.

She joked: "I basically stalk my favourite celebrities at conventions with cake.

"I should clarify that my celebrity stalking is strictly cake-based.

"Mostly."

The Northern Tart has since earned her the nicknames 'the creepy cake lady' and 'that horror tart.'