Interview: Psychic Medium Matt Fraser on What to Expect From His Virtual Show

For over a dozen years, Matt Fraser—best known as "America's Top Psychic Medium"— has been sharing his ability to communicate with the dead through television, books, personal appearances and his virtual "show," which takes places several times a month.

TheaterMania recently spoke with the Rhode Island native about how he discovered his gift, what he can and can't do, and the difference between attending his virtual show and seeing him in person.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

You call yourself a psychic medium. Can you explain exactly what that term means?
I think many people have a misconception about what psychic mediums do. I communicate with people who have passed on, and my job is getting messages from the departed, whether it's where their relative should live, or how many kids they are going to have ,or what they should do next when they've lost a job or gone through a divorce. The information doesn't come from me; the spirits are the ones who can see tomorrow rather than yesterday. I am just the messenger.

Can you contact anyone who has died?
That's another misconception. A lot of people think I can call Marilyn or Elvis. I can't. It has to be a personal connection. And, more importantly, it's really all about what the soul wants to speak about; not all souls have a message for those who are living. Usually, it's something that really needs to be heard. Believe me, my grandmother isn't going to come and talk about how she misses her favorite blanket.

When you were first aware you had this gift?
When I was like a kid, I was like that kid in The Sixth Sense who saw dead people in my bedroom. Of course, I was frightened by this, so I spent most of my life pushing this gift away. I didn't know why it was happening. But internally, I always felt this deep connection to people. I knew I had to help others, so I began to work as an EMT. And then I went to see a medium and it was amazing. That's what made me realize I could use my gift to help people to heal.

You stress that you're a healer. Does that mean you don't tell people bad things?
Many times, I don't want to tell someone something bad, but my policy – love me or hate me – is to tell everything I hear no matter what. And I believe the person I am "reading" needs to hear what they're going to hear from the other side.

I imagine most of the people you "read" are already believers in your gifts. How do you handle people who are openly skeptical of what you do?
I love reading skeptical people because they usually think there is no way to come to my show and get read. But when I do, it can change their lives completely and open up their life to up new possibilities.

Can you talk a little about the difference between attending one of your in-person shows versus one of your online shows?
Because I am right there, the in-person shows get more emotional. I can give someone a hug if they need it. To me, it's like being at a family reunion in heaven. But what's cool about doing it online is that there can be people from Massachusetts, Florida, the UK and the Philippines — and all their spirits – on one conference call. And even through we're far apart in the world, we all share the same thing: we've lost a loved one and want to talk to them.

I notice you don't work every single day. Why?
I have to take a week out of every month to relax and destress. Doing this is a whole-body experience; and it can be physically draining to deal with these emotions all at once, even though I've learned to put my own emotions aside. Still, I find doing this so rewarding, and as of right now, I plan to do this work for the rest of my life.