The Higgs mechanism is a theory, or a part of a larger theory. The mechanism explains how bosons can be massive, and also have electric charge. At least, it explains the Standard Model weak vector bosons (look it up). The theory of the Higgs mechanism was developed to help with another theory (still) in development, a modified Yang-Mills theory. G t'Hooft writes a very good (and somewhat understandable) article in SciAm about this theory and how it developed, including his own work on "ghost particles". In the current version, there are four Higgs fields (resp particles), three are "eaten" by the weak vector bosons, and the remainder "is" the Higgs boson. The fields need to be added to this Yang-Mills theory, type of thing, because the theory has to have conservation of angular momentum, energy, and so on. The SciAm article (June 1980) first explains what field-symmetries are, locally and globally; t'Hooft explains that making a global symmetry local, means something needs to be added to maintain (restore) these field symmetries. \or_something.
