Misdirection

                
                      Higley's philosophy and show concept is that a Single-O 'Grind Show' is like having your own little Sci-Fi or Adventure movie show, except, you are presenting your 'story' LIVE...But it is of the same purpose, to entertain and create a sense of wonder in the viewer and for some maybe a bit of nostalgia as well...keeping the paying customer HAPPY and AMAZED and hopefully scratching their head in curiosity, wrinkling a brow and maybe cracking a smile. True Showmen have fun and make a few bucks along the way while entertaining their 'audience' with a bit of Illusion and as Doug likes to call it, Foolertainment. It is a show tradition going back to the 1600's. The Flea Market and Small Fair IS just the NEW Midway. Doug Higley is considered THE master gaffologist and has clients in 24 countries world wide! The 'Chupacabras?' were just a small part of what he creates for the show folks and Magicians all over the planet. He is known to showmen/women everywhere as 

                      The Phantom Of The Midway...

Master Showman Bobby Reynolds says: "Since most people believe Doug's creations were once alive, nobody knows it's really ART...created in such a way that
the artist is invisible,
a Phantom...
Doug really knows his stuff...he's the last of his kind...
a real ILLUSIONIST and he has fun with his talent too!
They are the Best Gaffs On Earth!"

Doug's unique Art has been displayed not only in Circus Sideshows but in Major Museums in the USA, UK, Canada and Paris and 24 Countries! At such diverse places as Stonehenge, Roswell New Mexico, BBQ Restautrants and even Buckingham Palace! Doug's work is collected by Magicians, Showmen/Women and Sideshow fans world wide and has fans in the oddest circles...UK Royalty, Top Skeptic Joe Nickle and even the World's Foremost Cryptozoologist and Writer Loren Coleman!

The original idea was not to show the gaff 'creatures' claiming them to be 'REAL!' but to let the viewer make up their mind as to what IT was and to say only it was a strange 'thing' to be questioned and wondered over. Most ALL the showmen/women 'get it' and make a fun experience out of their show just like Higley teaches it can be...The analogy to to a 'little sci-fi movie' is a valid one in that Universal Studios doesn't come right out on the poster and say "The Creature is Fake! It's a man in a rubber suit!" They let the viewer experience the fun of suspending disbelief if only for a short time. The movie studios don't claim it's REAL either. Well, actually some do...like the false claim that 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' was based on a real event. It wasn't.

There are other mysterious 'creatures' waiting in the wings and in his head and untill Higley passes from the scene, the Fantasy will go on...step right up folks!

Higley is also well known in Magic Circles for having created many unusual props and effects for Professional Magicians and other performers the world over. To Doug, it's all about the Illusion...but then isn't everything?

"The 'Indians' of the Amazon Rainforest see NO DIFFERENCE between the REAL world and the world of Dreams...Day or Night...the seen and the unseen...strange creatures, real and imagined, haunt these dark waters and river banks. Death can come in many forms...unknown animals...bizarre plants...the collecting of Heads to absorb the power of the former owner...all contribute to an area steeped in legends and mystery...dreams and myths become reality and the people of the Forest know there is no dividing line...that there is a sense of wonder in EVERYTHING."

Note: Higley has taught legions of showmen & women all over the world How-To do a little Grind Show correctly. Since most of these folks are already in Show Business of one sort or another they know what entertainment is all about and do it RIGHT. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of folks have paid their $1 and come away with a memory far more lasting than the $10 movie they saw the night before. Higley's original show concept and 7 exhibits recently made a literal Fortune for a major charity in the UK.
That's Foolertainment!