Theresa Caputo – On Psychics
Theresa Caputo puts on a show. The phrase rattling around my head right now is:
“Reader, I married him.”
This is a famous quote from Jane Eyre, and the ‘him’ is, of course, Mr. Rochester.
My version today is:
“Reader, I went to see her.”
Yes, the ‘her’ is Theresa Caputo, the Long Island Medium. Last night I went to her show at the Dr. Phillips Center in downtown Orlando. Any kind of recording was strictly forbidden, so I have no pix from the event.
Here she is:
She’s known for her bouffant blonde hair, long white fake nails, exuberant laugh and in-your-face New Yawk accent. She claims to have been able to speak to the dead since she was 4 years old
Okay, I admit it. I watch her show on TLC. When I saw she was coming to Orlando, I decided to shell out $89.75 for “The Experience.”
Before going to the event I read up on articles declaring her to be a fake. Skeptic Massimo Polidoro wrote last year:
“Caputo, in fact, seems to be the next evolutionary step of contemporary mediums after the likes of Rosemary Altea [and others]: performers who, from the stage, point to members of the audience and claim to receive communications from the dead on their behalf. In the case of Altea, the use of old cold reading techniques is quite clear. These are techniques that undoubtedly require a quick mind, ready to grasp any information coming from the sitter and convincingly sell it back to believers as if it came from the spirits.”
Watch Altea get caught cheating:
Polidoro goes on to say that, in large group readings, Theresa Caputo confines herself to people only in the first few rows and that her team knows who they are and researches them in advance by using the most obvious treasure-trove of personal information available: Facebook.
Other skeptics criticize her for declaring, “Perfect!” to almost any response an audience member might say to a symbol Theresa suggests is coming from a loved one in the spirit world.
For instance, last night, Theresa told a woman that her departed son had stepped forward and then added, “I’m seeing a flannel shirt. This doesn’t mean he wore flannel shirts. Rather this is my symbol that he wore only one kind of shirt.”
The woman answered, “Well, he always wore tank tops.”
Theresa said, “Perfect! This your son validating for you that he is coming through.”
All right, then.
Theresa Caputo is clearly aware of her critics because during her two-hour performance she made her way around the whole of the first floor of a large theater. This feat of energy is made all the more spectacular because she did it in 6-inch Christian Louboutin sparkly red stilettos:
She also said at one point, when she hit on just the right piece of specific information, “I couldn’t Google that!”
As she moved around, she threw out questions such as, “Who has the family member who committed suicide?” “Who died in a boating accident?” “Who lost a child when someone else was taking care of them?” “Who was murdered?”
She acknowledged, “There are only so many ways a person can die.”
Her message was consistently that the loved one’s soul was at peace, that the loved one wanted the person to be freed from guilt or the idea that the loved one wouldn’t have died if the person had done something different. Her goal is to heal people who have experienced tragedies.
I happened to be sitting next to a woman who had lost a child and received a reading from Theresa. The woman returned to her seat, crying and smiling. Unless she was a remarkably good actor, I don’t think she was a plant, and it was clear to me she felt genuine relief.
My takeaway: I went because I figured at the very least I’d be entertained, and I was. Theresa is warm and funny and has a big and charismatic personality. For entertainment value alone I felt I got my money’s worth. And if people who receive readings feel better for them, then I see no downside.
I’m of two minds on the existence of spirit world and anyone’s ability to connect with it. A part of me is definitely skeptical. However, another part of me must believe because I’ve been going to an amazing energy reader for well over 10 years.
If you’re interested in the real deal, check out: http://www.sherriedillard.com/
The title image for this blog is from Sherrie’s site.
Categorised in: Thoughts
This post was written by Julie Tetel Andresen
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