Oops, Malcolm! Never heard of the Highlands being any different. The prank with the pebbles on the windae was practised by our lot, too, but not exclusively at Halloween. It was carried out by rigging a reel of black thread on the window frame and fixing a wee hard object [button, pebbl;e, whatever] on the end of the reel. Skulking in the darkness you could make that thing cause some racket. [I believe in Glesca they call it "chickie-melly"]