The reality series Ghost Hunters and its stars, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, were mocked in the episode. Hawes and Wilson said they loved the parody and encouraged fans to watch the show on their Twitter accounts.
Billy Mays' son, Billy Mays III, a self-proclaimed South Park fan, said he loved "Dead Celebrities", and found its portrayal of his late father tasteful and respectful.
Some of the ghosts that Ike sees or are waiting on the plane in Purgatory are pop-star Michael Jackson, Billy Mays (who is advertising various products), Farrah Fawcett, Patrick Swayze, Natasha Richardson, Dom DeLuise, Ted Kennedy, John Hughes, Walter Cronkite, Ed McMahon, Adam Goldstein (DJ AM), Arturo Gatti, Bea Arthur, Steve McNair, Ricardo Montalbán, David Carradine, Les Paul, and Oscar G. Mayer, Jr.. Most of the aforementioned deaths have occurred within 2009 alone, a trend that alarmed the media.
After Ike wins the pageant and the camera veers out to the celebrating crowd a Visitor can be seen briefly in the back row left wearing a wig, referencing the shows pilot "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".
The doctor is a parody of Tangina, the psychic character in Poltergeist, played by Zelda Rubinstein.