PADUCAH — They are known as the cosplay crowd and at midnight movie showings, they're impossible to miss.

Some fear the culture they've embraced may now be over.

Cosplay is short for costume play. These are the people who get together with friends, dress up as their favorite movie characters, some heroes, others are villains, often with props, and then head out to the theatre for the movie premiere.

After last night's attack, local film fans fear the days of wearing masks and bringing props into the theater may be over and some cosplay enthusiasts said banning those things might not be a bad idea.

In fact, one major theater chain has already created strict new rules.

"When I was kid, I dressed up like, I used to dress up like the Joker and Batman and Robin," T.J. Cofield said.

Now an adult, Cofield admitted on occasion, he still dresses up and he's not alone.

At last night's Dark Knight Rises movie premiere in Paducah, there were plenty of costumes to be found.

"They're hardly about actually watching the movie," Cofield said. "It's just the whole event of what's going on."

Cofield said cosplay people have developed their own culture.

"Everybody I see, it's like hey, you're in the same stuff as me. This is kind of cool," Cofield said.

It's a culture that could come crashing down after last night's massacre in Aurora, Colorado, where a masked man went on a rampage inside a theater, killing at least 12 and injuring 58 others.

Cofield found out about it when he returned from the movie last night.

"I was just speechless really," Cofield said.

Now, a movie this Batman fanatic looked forward to for months will never be the same.

Cofield said he isn't sure what the future holds for him and others who've grown to love the culture of cosplay. In fact, A.M.C. Theatres banned costumes, face-covering masks and fake weapons.

"Even if I wanted to dress up for a movie I was really excited about, if it was going to cause fear for somebody or cause somebody to have any thoughts like that, I wont do it," Cofield said.

Cofield said he's not afraid to go back to the theater or to midnight showings. However, he'll make an effort to be extra aware of his surroundings from here on out.