TLC’s Theresa Caputo comes to Toledo Friday

"Theresa Caputo Live: The Experience" is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Huntington Center.

Theresa Caputo claims she sees dead people. More importantly, she says she communicates with them as well.

Caputo is the star of TLC’s Long Island Medium, a popular docuseries that follows her, husband Larry, and her two grown children through the normal and not-so-normal portions of their lives. For example, “spontaneous readings” in which Caputo stops, say, a random 30-something shopper at a grocery store to tell her that her dead mother is happy and wants her grieving daughter to “move on” is part of the show.

So is Caputo providing private readings to survivors struggling with their issues involving the deceased. Perhaps it was an apology a friend never got to make. Or a parent’s guilt over a child’s death.

Death brings finality, but not necessarily closure.

The Long Island Medium wants to help with that.

A 48-year-old frosted blonde with a dome of hair, a perpetual tan, and long, fake nails painted bright white, Caputo has been a practicing medium for a decade and is a certified medium with the Forever-Family Foundation, an organization dedicated to connecting science with the afterlife.

Of course, critics say the only gift Caputo has is the ability to fool people through the ancient and not so mysterious art of persuasion and observation.

Schtick or not, these often emotional sessions make for a fascinating and compelling hour of cable television. Given her nationwide audience from the show, it’s not surprising that Caputo takes her gift on the road to those who are living and troubled by a death. Cynics again would suggest these tours are about making large amounts of money, but area fans and critics can judge for themselves with Caputo’s appearance at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Huntington Center.

The medium will give “interactive readings” to audience members throughout the show and share personal stories about her life and her ability. Tickets to Theresa Caputo Live: The Experience are $39.75 to $89.75.

In addition to her TV show and live appearances, Caputo is a published author with 2013’s There’s More to Life Than This and last year’s You Can’t Make This Stuff Up, which debuted at No. 9 on the New York Times Best Seller list.

With a busy TV schedule, Caputo didn’t have time for a phone interview, but was able to answer nearly a dozen questions from The Blade.

Q: When did you first realize you could communicate with the spirits of the dead and how did you initially handle this ability? Was it awkward at first or could you “turn it off”?

A: I first began sending and feeling spirit when I was 4 years old but it wasn’t until many years later that I fully understood my gift. At first I thought it was totally normal. I thought everyone saw people by their bed at night!

Q: How has your ability changed your views of the afterlife? Is there, for example, the traditional Christian and Muslim view of a heaven and hell? And how does your knowledge of what’s to come when we die shape you as a person now?

A: I can only speak about the afterlife from what spirit has shown me and what I do know is that it is peaceful and beautiful. Spirit has never said it’s hot down here so I’m going with there is no hell. I’ll find out what it’s really like when I get there!

Q: Do the spirits of your relatives communicate with you?

A: Just like everyone else, hearing from your loved one isn’t always easy. It’s definitely easier for me to channel people that I don’t know, but I embrace all the messages from my loved ones.

Q: Have you ever helped solve a crime because of a message from a deceased victim?

A: I don’t know if I ever helped solve a crime, but I know it brought families peace.

Q: Are there messages that you won’t communicate with the living because they are too hurtful? Do you ever encounter the spirits of criminals and those we would consider evil? If so, how do you deal with them?

A: I only channel spirits that walk in God’s white light and intend to do good. The messages I deliver are always to help people and give them the most healing.

Q: If your ability is a super power, would you substitute it for another ability, like flying or super strength or invisibility? If so, what would that power be and why would you choose it? If not, why would you keep the power to talk with the dead?

A: I don’t view this as a super power. It’s not about me and I believe that everyone can connect with their loved ones, they just have to be open to it. I would not change my gift for anything ... not even a pair of shoes!

Q: Be honest, when you first watched The Sixth Sense, how long did it take you to realize that Bruce Willis’ character was dead?

A: I immediately knew. I can’t remember the exact moment but it was definitely early on in the movie. Love that movie!

Q: Who do you think you’re helping most: the living or the dead? And do you find that most of the living people you deal with are comforted by what you tell them?

A: I feel like it helps both, but it definitely is more about the living. I love that it gives spirit an opportunity to show how they’ve grown while healing and giving peace to their family.

Q: How often do people confuse you for being a psychic, and how do you typically respond when it happens?

A: It happens often. I think people have a misconception of what I do as a medium. I can’t predict the future .... or the lotto numbers! LOL!

Q: How do you spot a fake, and how can those who don’t have the ability to speak with the dead?

A: Everyone has the ability to sense and feel their own loved ones. Everyone is different but if you become aware of what’s going on around you that you might blow off as a weird coincidence, know that you’re not crazy. It is a sign from your loved one.

Q: A cynic would question your using this ability to make money — not necessarily from the TV series but from private and public readings. What would you tell them?

A: Most people don’t know, but for my private readings the fees are donated to Wounded Warriors (Long Island Veterans Home Chapter) or Meals on Wheels. The client writes a check directly to the charity.

Theresa Caputo will appear at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Huntington Center. Tickets are $39.75, $49.75. $59.75, and $89.75, and can be purchased at the Huntington Center box office, 500 Jefferson Ave., ticketmaster.com, all TicketMaster outlets, LiveNation.com, and by calling 1-800-745-3000. There are no service charges for tickets purchased at the arena box office.

Contact Kirk Baird at: kbaird@theblade.com or 419-724-6734.