He sees dead people

Clients and friends of David Roesch describe him as male version of the Long Island Medium. According to him, He has seen dead people since childhood.

“After having scarlet fever as a child, and being very sick for two weeks, I felt different after I recovered. Almost like, I could see farther, and knew what people were about to do. I just knew things. I remember deja vu feelings as a teenager. I would walk up to the phone before it rang, because I knew it was about to ring. As I got older, I would see spirits along the highways at scenes where accidents happened.”

Forty five-year-old Roesch performs psychic readings at farmer’s markets, his home, or at clients’ houses. For an hour and half reading, Roesch charges, on average, $100.

While there is a growing number of pop-culture psychics, a 2005 Gallup poll shows that less than half the population believe in the existence of psychic abilities. The poll found that 31 percent of those surveyed indicated a belief in psychic communication.

According to Roesch, he is the real deal. On his professional website, Psychicdavidsd.com, Roesch’s tagline is “Reaching family, friends, and loved ones with compassion.”

As for his credentials, he lists membership in the following organizations: The Psychic Gym (a weekly San Diego based Meetup group described as a place for psychics to fine-tune their skills), the Association Of Paranormal Study, and his current work with a paranormal team located in San Diego and Raleigh, NC, as their West Coast “sensitive.” The group specializes in residential investigations of paranormal activity.

“Over the past 3-4 years I have been working on improving my skills, focus, and abilities by attending groups and meetings with others.”

Roesch says he discovered he had a gift for readings a few years back after a close friend of his was going through a tough time.

“Although at the time I didn’t understand what a reading was, I started getting visions — intimate details about his life that concerned me. I knew things about him that were unexplainable. Soon after, I started to embrace and work with my abilities. I learned how to control the information. It really all started with practice readings for friends. The readings provided them closure. Seeing the change in their moods made me realize how much fulfillment I received from readings. My first formal read was almost two years ago.”

Roesch says the biggest reward of his work as a psychic is helping others.

“One favorite example is of a client in Pasadena. I was doing a paranormal investigation and ended up doing an impromptu reading for the homeowner and his father who passed. When I identified the father’s health issues and details of his passing, and the conflict he went through to end his father’s life support, I looked up and the man had tears in his eyes and a look of relief. I could tell years of guilt disappeared. At that moment I had such a great feeling, I still hear from him once in a while.”

To those who see his profession as a scam, Roesch says, “I can’t force people to believe. I can help open their minds by answering questions. Nothing can explain it better than your own reading, which I did with a skeptical friend. I think he expected me to fail miserably. Instead, I got his grandmothers birth name that she changed when she was 10, her cause of death, and his grandfather’s cause of passing. As we had never discussed his family before, how could I have never known those details? After the reading he asked with a shocked look on his face, “Are you serious?” I have to admit it was a good feeling to break down that barrier, but there are those who will never believe and that’s OK too.”

Roesch has had some awkward moments along the way and admits that readings aren’t always a success. “I was contacted, through a friend, about someone who wanted a reading. We started, and after about 30 minutes of trying, I couldn’t get any connection at all. He kept asking that I try. As time went on, it made it harder and very awkward,” says Roesch

As for other wannabe psychics, Roesch has the following advice,

“Be honest. If you don’t get anything, don’t make it up or keep pushing. Just say so and end the session. Be ready for some heavy emotions, and having people’s skeletons show up from time to time. Be ready for criticism.”