A family of ghosts are vacationing in South Dakota, but they don't like how there are humans around and want to scare them away. Then, Peter, Winston, and Slimer drive up, wanting to vacation there too. When they arrive, they find everyone fleeing, including the motel owner, who puts them in a room anyway since they paid in advance.
Peter, Winston, and Slimer go fishing in a river, but the ghost family makes the water wavy and the fish jump out. The girl ghost, Scabitha, introduces herself to Slimer. Winston points out that the area is haunted, but Peter doesn't want to do any work because they're on vacation. They go horseback riding, but then the "horses" turn out to be the ghosts in disguise, who change into scarier forms to scare them away.
Peter decides that they need to get rid of these ghosts, and Scabitha and her brother (whose name is revealed to be Clot) warn their parents. Peter goes to bed, with proton packs near the bed in case the ghosts return, but Slimer wants milk. Peter gives him money for the vending machine, and Slimer goes out and buys milk. Slimer meets Scabitha and the two play hide and seek, then the whole family possesses Mt. Rushmore and makes the statues sing. Peter and Winston try to trap them, but Slimer and Scabitha stop them and convince everyone to call a truce.
This episode provides examples of
- Alliterative Title: Transcendental Tourists.
- Animate Inanimate Object: Invoked when the ghosts possess Mt. Rushmore and make the faces sing.
- Animorphism: The ghosts turn into horses at one point.
- Angrish: When the father ghost is angry that Peter and Winston refuse to leave, he babbles angrily.
- Artistic License – History: The ghost family is apparently having their centennial vacation in South Dakota, meaning that their last vacation there would have been in 1889 (since the episode aired in 1989). However, they're surprised to find humans, despite the fact that humans did live in South Dakota in 1889. In fact, since they're near Mt. Rushmore, it would have been even louder, since that area was a mining town back then.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Interruption: Peter and Winston sing, "And the sky is not—-" but are interrupted by the ghosts yelling, "QUIET!".
- Big "SHUT UP!": Frustrated with Peter and Winston's singing, the ghosts yell at them, "QUIET!".
- Blue Means Cold: When Slimer freezes when hiding in the icebox, he turns blue.
- Call a Human a "Meatbag": The ghost family call humans "flesh heads".
- Counting to Potato: Because she's only a little girl of about four, Scabitha counts out of order when playing hide and seek.
- Creepy Family: The episode focuses on a ghostly couple and their two ghostly children.
- The Day the Music Lied: Towards the end, the theme music plays, making it seem like there'll be a fight scene, but there isn't one.
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Slimer hums the theme tune while drinking his milk.
- Ectoplasm: Discussed when, in the parody of "Home on the Range", Peter and Winston are happy to not have slime on their hands.
- Fantastic Racism: The ghost family initially has disdain for humans.
- Former Bigot: At the end, the ghost family overcomes their prejudice against humans.
- Friendly Ghost: Once they get to know the humans and Slimer, the ghost family is amiable to them.
- Heel–Face Turn: First Scabitha, then the rest of the ghosts, eventually turns to the side of good and lets Peter, Winston, and Slimer vacation with them.
- Nursery Rhyme: When they're driving up, Peter, Winston, and Slimer sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider".
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Subverted when Peter yells, "Okay, music lovers — find a tune for this!" and is about to trap them, but doesn't.
- Silly Spook: The family does wacky things, like play hide and seek and make statues sing.
- Song Parody:
- While horseback riding, Peter and Winston sing a parody of "Home on the Range", with lyrics like "our hands are not slimy all day".
- While possessing Mt. Rushmore, the ghost family sings a parody of "Hit the Road, Jack".
- Speak in Unison: At the end, the ghost family possesses Mt. Rushmore again to bid Peter, Winston, and Slimer goodbye in unison.
- Theme Music Power-Up: Subverted — the theme song plays, and it seems like the family will get trapped, but they don't.
- Undead Child: Clod and Scabitha are ghosts, but seem to be only about eight and four respectively.
- Unnamed Parent: The ghostly kids are named Clot and Scabitha, but their parents are unnamed.
- Vacation Episode: The episode focuses on a family of ghosts, plus Peter, Winston, and Slimer, vacationing in South Dakota.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: The ghosts can shapeshift, as shown when they turn into horses, then into monsters.
