The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Get in the ‘spirit’
‘Long Island Medium’ bringing her live show to E.J. Thomas Hall
Theresa Caputo is a psychic medium with a largerthan-life personality (and hairstyle).
She’s done what’s known as “readings” — connecting to people’s late loved ones — for decades now, but she’s best known for being the star of TLC’s reality show “Long Island Medium.”
The show, which ran for 14 seasons, quickly made Caputo America’s psychic sweetheart.
It chronicled the medium’s often impromptu readings (while out to dinner, at the market, etc.) as well as her personal family life.
Although the TLC show ended in 2019, Caputo continues to give those grieving a sense of peace and comfort.
Now she does her readings via her podcast — “Hey Spirit,” as well as on her spinoff show on Discovery Plus called “Long Island Medium: There in Spirit” which follows Caputo’s Zoom readings that she relied on through the pandemic.
Now that live shows are a thing again (and usually with safety protocols like masking in place), she is back on the road and is set to give readings for a live audience on Oct. 7 at E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron.
She talks spirit, nerves and skeptics on a phone call ahead of her Akron appearance.
As Caputo explains what she does for a living, it sounds a lot like that of an improv performer — there is no set format for her live shows.
“You can’t format when spirit’s in control,” she says.
“I think that’s one thing that people don’t realize. I just come out on stage and give a quick speech and then I’m down in the crowd. Spirit guides me around and I stop in front of someone and start saying things that mean absolutely nothing to me but are absolutely life-changing to the person I’m standing in front of.”
Does that ever make her nervous?
“Oh my God, I am nervous! I feel like I’m gonna have diarrhea before every show. Are you kidding me? .”
“I think about it; how crazy is this? I go out on stage with no plan. It’s different every night.”
These shows are pretty high-pressure situations, with thousands of people hoping to hear from their departed loved ones through Caputo.
Does spirit compete for Caputo’s attention?
“It’s the living that is in more competition.
“That’s the thing I explain to people when they come to the show is I don’t know who’s going to get read. If I spend more time on one side of a theater instead of the other — it’s not up to me.”
The thing Caputo says helps her keep a bigger picture in mind with her work is that it’s not about her.
“I know this has nothing to do with me,” she says.
“The only thing that I take credit for is that I’m crazy enough to say the things they have me say.”
Caputo gives an example of something that happened during a show the night before, explaining that spirit told her that they died “from the wind.”
“I have no idea what this is, this is crazy.”
Quickly after, Caputo connects with an audience member who explains that their loved one passed from hypothermia after a snowmobile accident.
She says she feels just as surprised as everyone in her audience as these things unfold.
Another thing Caputo loves about live settings with thousands of people, she explains, is the energy that spirit brings.
“They tend to be more playful, a lot of their personality comes through and there’s so much peace, joy, and laughter. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s truly what happens.
“It’s like spirit takes us on this emotional roller coaster of feeling pain, sorrow, loss and grief, and then in the next breath, they’re saying something that makes everyone laugh and feel joy. It’s almost like they give us permission to enjoy life. Like, it’s OK, we can be sad, but it’s OK to be happy too.”
If you’re debating going to the show in hopes of being read, keep in mind that Caputo promises it’s a
worthwhile experience even if you don’t get read personally.
“This experience gives us peace, it gives us faith and it gives us hope. There’s so much healing that goes on. The souls that speak are the ones who can deliver as many messages at one time.”
There are a couple of other things she says she always wants people to know too.
“There truly is more to life than just here in the physical world, and more importantly their loved ones are still with them,”
she says.
“When someone passes, the only thing we lose is that physical connection; that soul bond can never and will never be broken.”
Finally, she wants people to know that all those little things that go on around them that remind them of their loved ones, know that that is them.
“I say they are little ‘hellos from heaven.’ You have your own ability to connect with your departed loved ones. What makes me different is I have the ability to connect with everyone’s departed loved ones.”
If you can’t catch this live show, you can also contact Caputo’s podcast and leave a message, she says she may just call back and give you a reading.
As for skeptics, Caputo says, “I get it, I’m the first one to say what I do is absolutely crazy. But spirit has me talk about things there’s no way I could find out about.”
“Skeptics are usually people who don’t understand what I do and I get it. But speak to the people who had the experience with me and make your own determination, you know?”