We had our code words ready. If Theresa Caputo said anything about the price of Tide or the word “tiger,” my husband and I would have known it was one of our fathers. But that didn’t happen.
What did happen when Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo took the stage at the Nutter Center in Dayton was very much like what happens on her show when she does a group reading: spirit came through and she relayed their messages.
I know, I know. Some of you are smirking and shaking your heads thinking she’s a fake. Maybe, maybe not. It really doesn’t matter to me either way. I find her fascinating. Whether she really hears spirit (and I like to think she does) or whether she’s just got an uncanny knack for reading people’s psyches, what impresses me about her is that she has the rare gift of being able to make the bereaved feel better. I believe people actually start healing and feel relief when Theresa gives them a message from their loved ones. I, for one, never know what to say. So I don’t care if she’s making the whole thing up. She’s connecting with people in a way that is truly remarkable to me.
But here are a few reasons I think she is legit.
Much like on her show, Theresa wandered around the arena, honing in on groups of people and asking her typical questions. Who’s the young man who passed from a car crash? Who’s the mother figure that filled up with fluids? Who’s the sister figure who died suddenly? And in almost all the cases, it was a description that related to someone in the very close vicinity of where she was standing. Once she zeroed in on who the message was directed toward, she did her usual reading with more personal details and messages.
Yes, some of those descriptions could be considered pretty generic. But there were a couple that weren’t. At one point, Theresa stood in the middle of the floor and said she saw a train. People on either side of the arena cried out and Theresa couldn’t figure out which group spirit was referring to. So she added that this person had been severed by a train. That descriptor still applied to both sets of people. Then she asked what the bushes meant. One cluster of people didn’t know what she was talking about, but the woman on the other side of the arena said she did. Her friend had hidden behind bushes and then jumped in front of a train when it approached.
Tell me Theresa made that up.
You know what, it doesn’t even matter if she did. She went on to tell this woman that she saw prescription bottles and that the woman wasn’t taking them. All true. Whether she guessed that this woman was mentally ill, or spirit came through, she took a great burden off the audience member’s chest by telling her there was nothing she could have done to prevent what happened. Maybe she’s even heard that before, but coming from Theresa, it seems to mean something.
The woman behind us, the woman in front of us, and the woman right next to me all broke into tears at different points during the show. Their grief, like that of so many others in the audience, is still so raw. What surprised me was when Theresa asked, “Who was shot point blank, right here in the head?” and pointed to the middle of her forehead. Cries and hands went up all over the arena. I was taken aback. So many fatal gunshot wounds! She zeroed in on the couple who’s son was presenting to her, but I couldn’t stop thinking about all those senseless deaths.
Theresa went on for two hours and read a few dozen people in the audience. It was very much like her show. I’m a huge fan, made even more so by learning that she donates all the money from her private readings to her two favorite charities: Meals on Wheels and the Wounded Warrior Project. I can’t help it; I like her.
I wish my stepfather or father-in-law had come through, but I think other people in the audience needed messages from their loved ones more. A lot of people needed that closure to start healing, and a lot of people walked out of that arena feeling better than when they walked in. So, I don’t care whether Theresa is a fake or not. She definitely has a gift.
What do you think about psychics and mediums?
Browsing The Atlas 
I have to agree with you in that I find her fascinating. When I watch her show I wonder if my cousin would come through to tell us who took her life. The rental we live in has a very active spirit and he loves to play games with us (i.e. open drawers and closets and leave bathroom mats in piles). We just talk to him that we are here and mean no harm. Sounds nuts to most people, but it makes sense to us since we have lived him for a few years now. I have had a sprit experience where I heard footsteps and looked down and there were foot indentations in the carpeting – that raised my hair a bit – a little spooky! I believe there are things in this world that cannot be explained and you are entitled to your opinion on those things. What a COOL Experience!
Wow! I can’t imagine living with a spirit. My stepsister’s old house was like that. She’d find picture frames turned backwards and other things that couldn’t be explained. Foot indentations in the carpet? Freaky! As long as it all seems benevolent, I guess I could like with it.
So nice to meet another Theresa fan. 🙂
Hence my reason for talking to them and that I mean no harm.
Theresa is a bit of a hoot too 🙂
She definitely is.
Never heard of her, but it’s cool that she donates to charities. I don’t make quite enough from writing to do that yet. 😉
Someday… Your writing will pay off big someday. I just know it.
I certainly agree that there are phenomena we don’t understand. I’ve had a couple of ghostly experiences that I found rather weird. –Curt
I can’t imagine. I’ve only had one vaguely ghostly experience.
My scariest was after my dad passed away and I was cleaning his apartment. A light and faucet went on without my help. I decided to vacate the premises. –Curt
Wow! Do you think it was him?
That or a very over-active imagination. 🙂
I have to say that I am a sceptic. But I can imagine that a live experience would shift that notion somewhat because there are things that we don’t have an explanation for yet, and one can’t just write it off as heretic (although those exist too !).
I can understand being a skeptic. I’m skeptical about a lot of the people who claim to have psychic abilities, but I do believe some people really do.
I’m not sure about her methods but I do think the deceased has a way of making their presence known to the living, whether that’s through spirit readings or dreams. Like you said, regardless of how “real” this is, being able to bring comfort to people is a gift and something we can learn from.
I definitely think spirits come to people in dreams. My mom has experienced that a few times in her life. I think you have to be open to it, too, and receptive of what’s happening.
We all want to be validated and anytime we can get that it’s always great. I went to a Prophetic conference in Spokane where John Paul Jackson, a well known christian prophetic man, did the same thing. He ‘read people’s mail’ and it was amazing. He was very blessed with a powerful gift. It wasn’t easy for him to live with it at times, but he is one who has done a great job of stewarding what God has given him. This was an interesting article Juliann!
Thanks! I think it’s wonderful when people can validate others, as you said. What a gift.
There are undoubtedly plenty of charlatans around preying on the vulnerable, and always have been. But I’ve also seen first hand what a skilled hypnotist and a old faith healer can do, so I’ll hedge my bets on this one.
Hypnotism fascinates me. And scares me a little. Interesting…
I’m normally a skeptic as well. I believe in ghosts but not sure about this.
After seeing her in action though, it doesn’t matter. What matters was seeing how she helped people find closure. So legit or charlatan, who cares. Her gift is helping others
Exactly!