Josie and the Pussycats, created for Archie Comics in the 1960s, were licensed by Hanna Barbera for Josie and the Pussycats (1970) and Josie and the Pussy Cats in Outer Space (1972). This 1973 crossover was their final HB appearance. They were intended to reappear in Scooby's Laff-A Lympics (1977), but Archie refused to renew the contract. The band would not make another screen appearance until the Josie and the Pussycats (2001) movie, making a gap of 28 years.
"The Haunted Showboat" shares its title with a classic Nancy Drew volume that has a similar plot.
Comic gold is mined from the interactions between Casey Kasem's very similar characters Shaggy Rogers and Alexander Cabot III, and Don Messick's mismatched characters Scooby Doo and Sebastian Cabot.
Alan Mayberry appears to be a repurposing of the Fred Jones animated figure model.