The reason the masked figure causes such a stir among the other people of the party is because his costume is so much more grotesque than those of the other people. Poe says that the masked figure "out-Heroded Herod", meaning that he was incredibly over the top, that he took the grotesqueness that was evident in all of the other costumes to the next level. Poe explains that Prince Prospero had not really set any limits concerning the grotesqueness of his guests' costumes, but there are some lines that people should not cross, some things that should not be joked about, some things that should just not be done. But the masked figure crosses that line, jokes about that thing, does what he should not—he has neither "wit nor propriety"—which is exactly why the other guests are so shocked by his appearance.
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