Halloween isn't just for the young, you know. Many adults appreciate a bit of raw blood-curdling terror just as much as the kiddies. During the month of October, Unseen Gallery (108 Morningside NE) will host its Art of the Dungeon exhibit featuring various torture and restraint paraphernalia along with art work on the themes of pain and fear. You'll also find costume pieces, creepy note cards and other ghoulish artifacts on display. As per gallery policy, the really twisted stuff will be draped with a veil so kids or extra sensitive adults won't be directly subjected to anything objectionable. In a deliciously weird twist, the organizers will also be passing around a donation box for Amnesty International. Art of the Dungeon opens Friday, Oct. 1, with an all day cookies and punch reception from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Runs through Oct. 30. 232-2161.

Snake Oil for the Lovelorn at Q-Staff Theatre

It's no small irony that the spiffy new Q-Staff Theatre (4819 Central NE) is located directly across the street from the Hiland Theatre. The Hiland, of course, has served as home to Musical Theatre Southwest (MTS) for years. It's the one place in town where folks can regularly catch productions of hit Broadway musicals.

Have you ever chowed down at El Farol, the tasty Santa Fe tapas restaurant located in that cute historic building along Canyon Road? No? Well, on Monday, Oct. 11, from 6 to 8 p.m., El Farol is coming to Albuquerque. Chef James Campbell Caruso will make an appearance at Bookworks (4022 Rio Grande NW, 344-8139) to promote and sign the new El Farol Tapas and Spanish Cuisine, and, more importantly, he'll be offering scrumptious samples lifted from the book.

A scene from Out ch’Yonda’s new production of Les Blancs .

Out ch'Yonda

When Lorraine Hansberry, author of A Raisin in the Sun, died in 1965, she left behind an unfinished play called Les Blancs, which explored the devastating impact of European colonialism in Africa while also indirectly commenting on race relations in the United States. Hansberry's friends polished Les Blancs up a bit and the play was eventually staged on Broadway. A new production comes to Out ch'Yonda (929 Fourth Street SW) starting this weekend. It'll run Fridays and Saturdays at 8:15 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 3:15 p.m. $7, $10. Runs through Oct. 17. Call 243-4325 to make reservations. Seating is limited.

Nicole Cajori (left) and Brian Fejer in MinotaurMan

Los Poblanos Fields

If you're going to perform an experimental show about a minotaur in Albuquerque, the best place to do it would be the Los Poblanos Fields corn maze. The Readymade Dance Theater Company has been creating innovative outdoor performances at the maze for three years now. This year's show, MinotaurMan, directed by Zsolt Palcza, will be performed over the next two weekends, on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. $8 general, $6 students/seniors. For more information, call 246-2433 or log on to www.na-da.org.

"When Victorians dreamed, they dreamed of the future," says the heroine of Bharati Mukherjee's new novel. "I dreamed of the past." This potent contrast forms the heart of Calcutta-born Mukherjee's dazzling new novel, The Tree Bride. It is the second in an ongoing trilogy of novels by the Calcutta born novelist, which when finished, just might be the Indian-American version of Roots.

Through profiles of golf bigwigs like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and other superstars, Sounes explains how the game has evolved over the last century from an elitist, and often racist, country club pastime to the multi-bizillion dollar entertainment enterprise it is today.