This is the 5522nd most frequent Russian word.
показались
"Appeared" or "seemed."
The word "показались" is used here to mean "appeared" or "became visible" in the distance.
Вдали показались силуэты домов.
In the distance, the silhouettes of houses appeared.
Here, "показались" means "seemed" or "appeared" in a metaphorical sense, relating to perception or opinion.
Её слова показались мне странными.
Her words seemed strange to me.
In this sentence, "показались" is again used to indicate something becoming visible, similar to the first example.